* 



BIG BLOW'S 



Sltrtcftris Of MumUts, 



^c. 



WLtu^m 



SROM A 



2r©wiEsr^:^i 



OR 



SKETCHES OF RAMBLES 



IN SOME PARTS OE 



NORTH BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



CHIEFLY IN THE YEAR 



BY ANDREW BIGELOW. 




BOSTON : 

WELLS AND LILLY, COUBT-STREET. 

1821. 



a«^ 



^ttUtt. 



Ik oommitting the following papers to the 
press, the author deems it incumbent on 
him to state the circumstances which have 
led to their publication. 

Early in the autumn of 1819, he was 
desired by the Editor of a Southern Jour- 
nal to furnish some sketches of foreign 
travels for insertion in the miscellany of 
the work. Hasty delineations of the sce- 
nery, manners and incidents which fell 
under the writer's observation in the Bri- 
tish Kingdoms particularly, he was told 
would be acceptable ; and he was request- 
ed to subjoin such general remarks illus- 
trative of men and things, as might occur 



(o Sti^ 



A^ 



VI PREFACE. 

to him in transcribing any portions of his 
journal for publication. 

The author accordingly commenced the 
undertaking, willing to refresh his own re- 
collections, and to recreate his memory by 
the retrospect of the past. The publica- 
tion of the series had scarcely begun, when 
he was called to a distant part of the coun- 
try to labour in his profession, w^here for 
the ensuing eighteen months, the arduous- 
ness of his duties prevented him from 
prosecuting the plan only at irregular inter- 
vals, and at best, very imperfectly. The 
pieces forwarded therefore, with the excep- 
tion of the marginal remarks, were almost 
literal transcripts of sketches hastily noted 
in the author's travelling diary ; and owing 
to the distance to which they were sent, 
he was unable to rectify the accidental 
errours, — some of which were very mate- 
rial, — w^hich occurred in the printing. The 
sketches appeared in numbers, either in 
the Analectic Magazine, or, after the al- 
teration of the plan of that work, in the 



PREFACE. VII 

Philadelphia Literary Gazette, its succes- 
sor. Of those now given to the public, 
the Excursion from Edinburgh to Dublin, 
the Tour to Loch* Katrine and the Gram- 
pians, and the Journey to Melrose and 
Dryburgh Abbies, were first placed at the 
disposal of the Editor of those excellent 
Miscellanies. The others which follow 
were also prepared for insertion in them ; 
but circumstances precluded their being 
seasonably forwarded, and they have been 
hitherto withheld by the author. 

Of the Excursion to Dublin, large ex- 
tracts have been republished in several of 
the American Newspapers. Parts of it 
also appeared in a London Magazine ; and 
again, a fragment or two in the Boston 
Athena3um, — the last probably by mis- 
take, in the presumption that the sketches 
Avere of British origin. As some slight 
attention was accordingly drawn to the 
papers in their anonymous form; and as in 
the more extended extracts from them the 
errors of fact already adverted to, as well 



VIU PREFACE. 

as other inaccuracies were retained, the 
writer has bern induced to collect and 
publish them in a body, with th6 necessary 
corrections and a few additions. Little 
alteration has been made in the style ; and 
as much of the freshness of the original 
notes has been preserved as was consistent 
with perspicuity and exactness. Sketches 
of rapid incident cannot be supposed to 
abound much in detail ; and the author in 
making the following selections from his 
journal trusted their claims to attention 
chiefly on the intrinsic interest of the 
scenes, which he has attempted to deli- 
neate. He commits them to the candour 
of the reader, and will be happy, should 
they meet with indulgence, and serve to 
entertain some vacant hour. 

September, 1821. 



eotitewtfii. 



Excursion from Edinburgh to Dublin 1 

Walk to Holyrood 179 

Tour to Loch Katrine and the Grampians 197 

A Day in Lorn 251 

Visit to the Grave of Col. Gardiner.... 269 

Pilgrimage to Melrose and Dryburgh Abbies.iM>i.ii>iii>i>Mi»i«i«« 289 



isrtttt^ion 



sRoac 



M®1H®¥®©4KI T® DWJBMS* 



^; 



FROM 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN 



GLASGOW, APRIL 11, 1817. 

± HE clock of St. Giles' had tolled the hour of eight, 
when the stage-coach, in which I had taken a seat 
for Glasgow, rattled to the door. A few friends had 
assembled to witness my departure from Edinburgh, 
and to take a temporary leave. I was fortunate in 
having for a companion an intelligent and valued 
fellow-countryman, who had made an arrangement 
to travel with me to Dublin, whence, after a short 
stay, he was to embark for the south of England. 
On descending to the carriage, 1 was struck with the 
beauty and brilliancy of the morning. The air was 
mild and temperate ; the sky free from clouds ; and 
the sun, which had risen high, was pouring a broad 
light over the tops of the huge masses of houses in 

1 



2 EXCURSION FROM 

the old town, and displaying in all their gigantic 
prominence the grey walls and towers of its ancient 
castle. From the ramparts of the last a bugle was 
just sounding. I had often listened with delighted 
emotion to the effect of this music, in a morning or 
evening, from the windows of my lodgings, which 
were in the new town, and nearly opposite, and 1 
would gladly have now paused to enjoy it, had I not 
remembered that the summons of a coach-guard was 
urgent and imperative. I soon took my seat, and 
the deafening tones of the horn which he immediate- 
ly commenced blowing, as the coach drove rapidly 
along Prince's street, quickly drowned every finer 
feeling which the inspiring note of the bugle was 
just awakening. 

We left Edinburgh by St. Cuthbert's : the road 
soon passing between the Gorstorphine hills on the 
right, and further on, the Pentlands on the left. 
Our route to Glasgow lay through Midcalder and 
Whitburn. The country during the latter part of 
the way was far from being inviting : in a few places 
indeed it was rather dreary. The Lothians however, 
round Edinburgh, are very fertile districts, and under 
high cultivation. The Lothian farmers are inferior 
to none in Great Britain. Three miles from Edin- 
burgh the freestone walls by the sides of the way 
ceased, and hedge-rows commenced. The hawthorn, 
in many spots, was quite verdant for the season ; in 
some, almost in full leaf Gooseberries were still 
more forward. The peasantry were busily employed 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 

in the fields, either ploughing, or otherwise prepar- 
ing them for planting. Corn, or rather grain, they 
finished sowing, in this part of Scotland, ten days or 
a fortnight ago. Many of their lands were thrown 
up into long narrow ridges or swells. These make 
a good appearance, and are a proper precaution in a 
humid chmate to admit the passage of rain along the 
intervening furrows. We noticed some women en- 
gaged in the open fields in various hardy occupations, 
and thought that they managed the implements of 
husbandry quite as well as the men. The latter 
wore generally a large blue woollen cap, flattened 
upon the head, and slouched over the eyes. This 
was the lowland bonnet, and a very unbecoming one 
it is. The cottages were chiefly thatched for the 
first half of the way, after which tiled roofs made 
their appearance, and increased in number as we 
approached Glasgow. Five or six miles from that 
city a stream was descried at some distance on the 
left, apparently about twenty or thirty yards wide. 
' Is that the Clyde ?' inquired 1 of a fellow passenger. 
He replied that it was ; and I looked again, but was 
still disappointed. It appeared a pretty, and on the 
whole, a respectable stream, compared with some 
other Scotch rivers, but nothing better. The Clyde 
accompanied us but a little way, when it took another 
direction and disappeared. 

The entrance into Glasgow by the Gallowgate, is 
far from being tine. We passed a number of manu- 
facturing establishments ; — indeed I should have 



4 EXCURSION FROM 

known at once that 1 was approaching a manufactur- 
ing town, from the towering conical chimnies, the 
smoke, and other famiUar accompaniments. — 
Trongate-street looked very well ; we drove through 
it, and, entering Argyle-street, were soon set down 
at the door of an inn where half a dozen waiters and 
porters stood ready to assist us in alighting, and in 
getting our luggage from the coach. But we had 
no disposition to stop there, and accordingly sent 
our portmanteaus to the Buck's Head, an inn which 
had been recommended to us as preferable. We 
arrived too late to present letters, or make calls, 
but have taken an hasty walk through some of the 
principal streets. It is now 4, P. M. I have been 
writing with as much rapidity as my pen can move 
over the paper. Dinner is in readiness, and I must 
desist from the double motive of dearth of matter 
and the desire of attending to the call of the former. 
One difference which I perceive between this city 
and Edinburgh, is the hour of dining, which here is 
four, and at Edinburgh five. 

April 12th. — My companion, who had been in this 
city before, was walking out last evening after din- 
ner, when he accidentally met Mr. B. one of his 
Glasgow friends, and to whose family I was the 
bearer of an introductory letter. The gentleman 
returned with him to our lodgings, and gave a 
cordial invitation to tea, which we had no reluctance 
in accepting. My letter was presented to the 
family, and engaged every attention which the 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. ^ 

distinguished character of the lady from whom I had 
received it had authorized me to anticipate. My 
new friends I found highly agreeable ; two or three 
of their city acquaintance called in accidentally, and 
the evening glided imperceptibly away in animated 
conversation, till a late hour. 

To-day we have been engaged in presenting 
letters, all of which have been duly honoured, and 
in inspecting a few of the objects most worthy of 
attention in this great city. We were taken to the 
Tontine reading room, which we found well sup- 
plied with newspapers, and other periodical publi- 
cations. The annual subscription, (thirty-five shil- 
lings sterling,) was thought large. Letters which 
we brought to the Professors of Natural History 
and of Humanity in the University, gave us an 
opportunity of visiting very satisfactorily the interior 
of that seat of science. A part of our observations, 
however, we were obliged to defer till another day. 
The college buildings form two large quadrangles 
with spacious areas. The side towards the street 
through which is the main entrance, is extensive, 
but has a very heavy and gloomy appearance. The 
larger hall of the library is a fine specimen of the 
Ionic. The whole number of volumes is estimated 
at twenty-five thousand, among which are many that 
are highly prized. A beautiful MS. copy of the 
Vulgate, brilliantly illuminated, was shown. Although 
executed more than five centuries ago, it retains its 
colourings unimpaired. Several paintings, however^ 

1 * 



6 EXCURSION FROM 

at the commencement of the Book of Genesis, — 
though they illustrate the quaintness and spirit of 
the times, — might have been spared, without fear of 
offending a fastidious eye. One, which could not 
easily be forgotten, represents mother Eve just 
springing from the side of Adam, and standing with 
unblushing indifference •• in puris naturalibus.' We 
saw also the autograph of the famous doggerel 
version of the Bible, by the eccentric Zachary Boyd. 
This singular man left a large property to the 
college on condition that they should publish his 
work. They complied with the condition, I under- 
stand, only so far as to print a part of the manu- 
script, which was a portion of the Psalms, if I 
Temember correctly, but so managed as to secure 
the donation entire. Boyd is represented to have 
been exemplary in his private character ; and withal, 
shrewd and clever. The manuscript is very indis- 
tinct ; to me almost illegible. Professor M. who 
had often consulted it, read several choice extracts 
which were very ludicrous. I cannot remember 
them all, nor should I repeat them here if I did.* 

* To illustrate, however, the poetic character of the production 
and display the merits of this ' sweel smger,'' I here subjoin a 
few lines, which, with some other specimens, were actually seen. 
They are extracted from Jonah's comforting soliloquy in the 
whale's belly. 

* What house is this ? — Here's neither coal nor candle ; 

And nought but garbled fish alone I handle. 

I and my table are both here within. 

Where day ne'er dawn'd, where sun did never shine. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 7 

From the library we were conducted into the 
' Fore Hall,' a large room in which we found all the 
recent English publications. The University of 
Glasgow, in common with those of Edinburgh, St. 
Andrews, and Aberdeen, and the Advocates' library 
also at Edinburgh, enjoys a title to a copy of every 
work which is entered at Stationers' Hall. This is 
the share of a common privilege, secured by act of 
parliament to several other learned institutions in 
Great Britain, which goes to Scotland^ and a pretty 
large one it is too, amounting, if I mistake not, to 
live-elevenths of the whole grant. This receiving- 
room at Glasgow may therefore be considered as a 
kind of librometer^ showing the number of new books 
annually entered at Stationers' Hall, and affording 
data whence to calculate the whole amount issued 
from the press. It is found that the Scottish pro- 
ductions which come to hand, average about thirty 
a month : — and the whole number annually publish- 
ed in North Britain may be estimated at five hun- 
dred. There are a few good paintings in this Hall, 
among which is a highly finished portrait of the 

Not so was Noah in his house of tree, 

For tlirough a window he the light did see. 

He sail'd above the Irighest waves : a wonder, 

I and my boat are all the waters under ! 

He and his ark might go and also come ; 

But I sit still in such a straitened room 

As is most uncouth ; — head and feet togetiier, 

Among such grease as would a thousand smoLhor.' 



EXCURSION FROM 

present earl of Buchan, taken when lord Cardross, 
and precisely similar to one which ornaments the 
breakfast-room in his lordship's town-house in Edin- 
burgh. 

In the course of the forenoon we walked upon 
the green meadows along Clydesdale, a little remov- 
ed from the busy stir of the city, and admired the 
noble monument erected to the memory of Nelson. 
It is an obelisk one hundred and thirty feet in height 
finely proportioned, and it reflects great honour 
upon the taste and munificence of the people of 
Glasgow. It would be a beautiful work but for a 
disaster which has somewhat disfigured its appear- 
ance. A year or two after its erection, which was 
about 1808, the top was struck with lightning, and 
was much fractured. A large fissure was cleft be- 
tween the stones. Several of them weighing from 
five hundred to one thousand pounds were protrud- 
ed so far out as to seem in momentary danger of 
being precipitated below, although none even to 
this day have been entirely dislodged. A clumsy 
wooden fence surrounds the base of this column, 
which the inhabitants of Glasgow would long ere this 
have superseded by a suitable iron balustrade but 
for the expectation of the speedy fall of the impend- 
ing masses of stone from above. The rent is visi- 
bly widening each year by the action of frost and 
other natural causes, and is giving dreadful presage 
of an approaching final disruption. And yet we saw 
the poorer classes of females, for whose accommo- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 9 ' 

dation a large and commodious wash-house "has been 
erected in this vicinity, unconcernedly employed 
within a few yards of the monument, and in one or 
two instances, spreading their clothes for drying 
within a few yards of its base. 

At the hour of dining we went to ' North Wood- 
side,' a delightful country residence about two miles 
from Glasgow, the property of an opulent merchant. 
It is situated upon the Kelvin, a tributary stream of 
the Clyde, and, together with its grounds, exhibits 
striking evidences of the elegant but costly taste of 
its proprietor. The gentleman* had been in Ame- 
rica, and was not a little attached to its form of go- 
vernment, — a partiality which naturally extended 
itself to the individuals concerned in its administra- 
tion ; and accordingly we were gratified with be- 
holding the portraits of several of our most distin- 
guished countrymen adorning the walls of his 
apartments. The afternoon passed highly to our 
satisfaction ; and we would gladly have accepted an 
invitation, which was given with a sincerity which 
could not be mistakan, to protract our visit beyond 
the day, but for engagements which required our 
return to Glasgow. After coffee we left North- 
Wood-side, and reached the city in season to sup 
with the Rev. Dr. Chalmers. • 

* The writer of these notices has since had the satisfaction to 
receive this gentleman under his paternal roof: — a fortunate 
circumstance having once more brought him to America. 



10 EXCURSION FROM 

It had been my good fortune to meet, and become 
partially acquainted with this extraordinary man in 
Edinburgh. He had politely invited me to visit him 
in Glasgow, and this morning I called at his house 
and passed an half hour with him. I found him then 
much engaged in completing some preparations for 
a journey to London which he is to commence on 
Monday. He desired my company at supper in the 
evening, and extended the invitation to my compan- 
ion. We found a few friends at his house, among 
whom were several ladies. Mrs. C. possesses a 
pleasing person, and engaging manners, and per- 
formed the honours of the table with great proprie- 
ty. Dr. C. had finished the necessary arrangements 
for his journe}'^, and entered freely into an animated 
and instructive conversation. His colloquial powers 
are of an high order. Even in familiar conversa- 
tion he is impressive and striking ; although he 
seems not to be ambitious of display, er the distinc- 
tion of taking a lead. — He is at home upon most of 
the popular topics of the day. In discussing any of 
interest, he engages ' ioim in illis? His thoughts 
in that case are rapid, and his remarks, — assuming 
the complexion of his fervid mind, — abound in glow- 
ing, but easy illustrations. He spoke very feehngly 
upon the subject of the English poor laws, and the 
alarming increase of mendicity in Scotland. As an 
instance of the unnatural state of things in Glasgow 
itself, he referred to the sum of 14,000/. sterling 
which in less than a month had been raised by sub- 



EDmBURGH TO DUBLIN. 11 

3cription in this single city, for the relief of the 
poorer classes. To the honour however of the 
wealthy population of Glasgow, it should be added, 
that the monies thus contributed, have been more 
than enough, with other private benefactions, to 
supply the present need ; and the surplusage has 
been funded to meet some future, and I hope, very 
distant exigency. 

Conversation at table turned upon that dark and 
malignant spirit of infidelity, which under various 
forms, seems insidiously stealing like a pestilence 
through society. Dr. C.'s remarks upon this sub- 
ject were very eloquent, both in commenting upon 
the different masks which it assumes, and the co- 
verts wherein it lurks, and in suggesting some seem- 
ingly effectual checks to the prevalence of this tre- 
mendous eviL The inquiries of Dr. C. relative to 
America, as well now as during a former interview, 
indicated no small degree of attention which he has 
paid to its civil and religious institutions. He spoke 
in terms of great commendation of the writings of 
the late Jonathan Edwards, and pronounced them to 
be among the ablest in English theology. In meta- 
physics, he considers Edwards to have equalled 
the deepest thinkers of the age. 

The supper at Dr. C.'s was liberally and tastefully 
provided. Immediately after its removal, and before 
the wine was placed upon the table, the service of 
evening devotion was introduced. It was simple but 
engaging ; consisting of a portion of scripture which 



n EXCURSION FROM 

was read with great solemnity, and a prayer, during 
which all the company kneeled, as is usual in family 
devotions throughout this country. The servants 
were present. It was nearly twelve o'clock when 
we took leave of Dr. C. A very friendly request 
which he made that I would visit him hereafter in 
Glasgow, I fear that I shall never have it in my pow- 
er to comply with. 

Glasgow, 14th April. — Yesterday I had the satisfac- 
tion to hear Dr. Chalmers once more preach. It was 
generally understood that it would be the last time 
that he would officiate in Glasgow for two or three 
months, and the crowds which assembled to hear 
him were very great. He was absent from his own 
pulpit, by exchange, in the morning, which did not 
prevent, however, many from following him to the 
church where he preached. The Tron, in the af- 
ternoon, was overflowing some time before the hour 
of service, and the rush of people to the doors was 
as great as I have seen at Covent Garden, when 
John Kemble was to play. I repaired early to the 
church with some ladies, and we were fortunate in 
procuring excellent seats. Dr. C. fully equalled my 
expectations, although I have heard him in Edinburgh 
produce a superior effect. The eloquence of this 
great man is very vehement and impassioned. The 
. effect which he produces in preaching, does not con- 
sist in approaching his point by any artful and covert 
process of reasoning and illustration, but by openly 
marching up and confronting it with unhesitating and 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 13 

manly intrepidity. Whatever faults may be detected 
in Dr. C.-s style by the cool eye of fastidious criticism, 
from the profusion of his ornaments, the overstraining 
of his metaphors, the redundancy of his expressions, 
— perhaps there is no person living who, when once 
seen and heard, would be pronounced more free 
than he from the petty or laboured artifices which 
are generally employed to recommend opinion and 
enforce instruction. So regardless is he of the fac- 
titious aids of composition, that his style may often 
be considered negligent, and sometimes even coarse. 
This again may be regarded by hyper-critics as a 
species of affectation ; a contrary and, I believe, a 
juster inference may be drawn from the fact. Dr. C. 
unconsciously overlooks, while he is thought studi- 
ously to disdain, the more common trappings and 
gildings of composition. In preaching he seems 
wholly absorbed in his subhme occupation, and to 
be irresistibly borne along by the grandeur of his 
theme. As a man, he appears to sink under a pros- 
trating sense of his own personal nothingness, bu 
as a herald of the christian faith, he rises to the ma- 
jesty of more than mortal elevation. In discussing 
the great truths of Revelation, his imagination, it is 
true, kindles; and strange it would be if it did 
not. The fire which is elicited is the natural effect 
of the rapid motion of his thoughts, combined with 
the fervours of his ardent piety. His single services 
yesterday were enough to prove him the first prea- 
cher of his age. In each of his discourses there are 

2 



14 EXCURSION FROiM 

some parts which are particularly impassioned, and 
at such moments he hurries onward, as with the ex- 
citement of inspiration, and produces an effect which 
Whitefield could not have surpassed. At these times, 
too, the listening audience may be seen bending for- 
ward, as if with breathless interest, to catch each 
word as it falls from his lips ; and, on his arriving at 
the conclusion of the particular train of sentiment, 
again arousing as from the spell of a dream to the 
reality of conscious existence. This is not fancy, or, 
if it be, it is one which I am not singular in possess- 
ing. Dr. C. at least produces the effect of awaken- 
ing susceptibilities in the most obdurate bosoms. I 
was present one evening when he was preaching 
in lady Glenorchy's chapel in Edinburgh, and occupi- 
ed a seat next to Spurzheim, the celebrated cranio- 
logist. I noticed that he was deeply engaged by the 
the preacher. On his finishing, I inquired what he 
thought of him ? ' It is too much, too much,' said he, 
passing his hand across his forehead, ' my brain is on 
a fever by what 1 have been hearing ;' — a striking 
declaration from a cold and phlegmatic German. 

Dr. C. seems to act and feel as one, who, possess- 
ed of great intellectual endowments, is conscious 
that he owes them all to the service of religion. His 
aim apparently is, to ' bring every thought into cap- 
tivity to the truth of Christ,' and to ' cast down each 
lofty imagination,' at the foot of the cross. To add 
to the weight of his discourses, he is accustomed to 
call into requisition the abounding stores of his va^ 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIX. 15 

rious knowledge. In delivering his sermons he 
usually begins in a low, but always a distinct tone of 
voice ; and proceeds for some time with a calm and 
uniform utterance. As his subject is developed, his 
mind and feelings gradually expand and his voice is 
insensibly raised. His manner at first is not prepos- 
sessing ; nor indeed is his voice to an English car, a« 
it has much of the Fifeshire accent. The hearer, 
however, soon loses whatever is disagreeable in 
each; and even forgets the man while listening to 
the message of the preacher. Dr. C. appears turn- 
ed of thirty-eight, in his person he is tall, and rather 
slender ; his hair and complexion incline to dark ; 
his eye is a blue tending to grey, and is distinguish- 
ed at first only by a certain heaviness in its expres- 
sion. It beams however in conversation, and flashes 
in public discourse. 

Some facts in the history of this extraordinary 
man, are peculiar. For the first few years of his 
ministry he was settled in Kilmanny, an inconsidera- 
ble parish in the county of Fife. While there he 
was generally accounted a man of talents, but rather 
indifferent to the duties of his profession, fond of so- 
cial and gay company, proud of his intellectual pow- 
ers and no less so of his acquirements, and careless 
of the construction which the more serious part of 
the community might put upon his principles and 
sentiments. If I am correctly informed, he occa- 
sionally gave lectures in natural philosophy to the 
university of St. Andrews, and was considered as be- 



16 EXCURSION FROM 

longing to the moderate party in the kirk. Dr. 
Brewster apphed to him to write the article Chris- 
tianity^ in his Encyclopedia ; and it is said, that the 
train of thought into which his investigation led 
him, terminated in convictions which had the effect 
of changing his whole course of .life and sentiments ; 
and from that moment, entering into the ranks of 
orthodoxy^ he became an eminent and powerful cham- 
pion of the faith. His essay has since been pub- 
lished in a separate form, and entitled the ' Eviden- 
ces of Christianity.' Shortly after this remarkable 
change, his reputation rose with astonishing rapid- 
ity ; his zeal in the service of religion became inex- 
tinguishable ; and if the excellence of a preacher is 
to be estimated by his popularity, Dr. C. is decidedly 
the first in Great Britain. 

This gentleman was transferred to Glasgow two 
or three years ago. His parish is very large, con- 
sisting, as he told me, of nearly ten thousand souls. 
So great a number imposes duties upon him peculiar- 
ly heavy ; nor does his constitution seem capable of 
sustaining his fatigues. In delivering his discourses 
from the pulpit, which generally occupy an hour, it 
is usual with him to stop about midway, and read a 
hymn of six or eight verses, to be sung by the au- 
dience, while an opportunity is given him to recover 
from the partial exhaustion occasioned by his vehe- 
ment oratory. The people in Edinburgh are desi- 
rous of erecting a church for him, and to request him 
to settle among them ; but an obstacle is found in 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. ' 17 

the jealousy of the inhabitants of Glasgow, who 
look with no small uneasiness upon every thing 
which tends to aggrandize the reputation of Ediu- 
burgh.* 

To day we resumed our inspection of Glasgow. 
We commenced with visiting the Lunatic Asylum, a 
noble institution. The buildings are spacious and 
highly commodious ; the regulations within them ex- 
cellent. Apartments, suppUed w^ith suitable accom- 
modations, are rented according to their respec- 
tive eligibility, at various prices from eight shil- 
lings to a guinea and an half a week. Ninety-six 
patients are at present in the asylum. One or two 
we noticed in the grounds with straight jackets. We 
walked among them in a large court adjoining the 
buildings, although, as the keeper said, it was at the 
risk of personal exposure. The patients were 
walking to and fro, most of them without noticing 
us, or each other. Many of them had a very mel- 
ancholy appearance, and several a terribly wild 
look. We were surveyed attentively by one for 
some time, who at length came up and timidly ask- 
ed, ' do either of you gentlemen take snuff V A 
Scotch question, thought I, while I sincerely regret- 
ted that I did not possess a box which I might have 
given to him with its contents. 

* Since the above was written, Dr. C. has been presented to 

the church of St. Johns, a new and elegant erection in Glas- 

gov:-. 

o # 



1^ EXCURSION FROM 

We proceeded next to the Cathedral, a fine mas- 
sive Gothic structure. Its architecture is heavy, 
but is distinguished by an air of solemn and severe 
majesty. It presents many evidences of great anti- 
quity ; and is surrounded by a church-yard, where 
the passenger may read in the simple inscriptions of 
many a long forgotten name, a more impressive les- 
son of human frailty, than could be inculcated by 
the most laboured homily. One of these sepulchral 
records, found upon a monument within the Cathe- 
dral, which I copied with a pencil upon the spot, I 
here transcribe as curious for its antique orthogra- 
phy, and its promiscuous notice of the ravages of 
death in a single family. ' Heir ar bureit S^ Wal- 
tier, S^ Thomas, S>^ Jhonie, S^' Robert, S»* Jhonie, 
and S^' Mathieu, by lineal descent to utheris Barons 
and Knichis of the Hous of Mynto, with their vyffis, 
bairnis and bretherein.' 

Having inspected every thing worthy of atten- 
tion in the cathedral, its subterranities, Laigh Kirk^ 
and relics, we left it to visit once more the univer- 
sity. On our way there we deviated to see the house 
where the famous Lord Darnley resided. Nothing is 
observable about it at present, excepting that from 
being a lordly residence, it is converted into shops 
of millinery and small wares. We met professor W. 
by appointment at the university, and were leisurely 
conducted by him through Hunter's museum. Its 
collections are rich and extensive ; but to attempt 
an enumeration of what many have already describ- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 19 

ed would be an idle and profitless employment. 
It is sufficient to say that we saw what thousands of 
visitors have seen before, and paid the tribute of 
our humble applause to the liberal taste and perse- 
vering enterprise of its late collector and donor. 
Several Roman inscriptions upon tablets lately dug 
from Graham's dyke were shown ; also, altars, va- 
ses, and other antiquities found in different parts of 
Scotland. Our attention was directed to two origi- 
nal letters of Washington and Franklin deposited 
open in a glass case. The subjects of each are un- 
important, that of the former, particularly, 1 wished 
not quite so trivial. It relates to the purchase of 
some gold-lace for a military coat, and is dated 1799. 
The anatomical preparations connected with the 
museum are very valuable ; among them are many 
monstrous specimens, Lusus naturce, and untimely 
births. Adjacent to the university, is a spacious 
green inclosed for the walks and recreations of the 
students. The latter are distinguished in term time 
by an uncouth cloak of red cloth reaching below the 
knees ; an attire which in its best estate comports 
little with academic gravity ; and as worn by many 
of the students, these garments appear ludicrous 
enough. What remains of their original colour is 
traversed and intermixed with various stains, which 
gives them an appearance singularly fantastic. It is 
well if the spectator does not detect in them rents 
worn by the elements and hard usage. They seem 
like so many untrimmed cloaks of cavalry privates, 



20 EXCURSION FKOISI 

which, after performing a fair term of service in 
camp, and subsequently undergoing a suitable qua- 
rantine in a pawn-broker's shop, have been bought 
up for these sons of science, to descend as heir-looms 
from one academic generation to another. A troop 
of these students might be easily mistaken for a part 
of the grotesque 4rain of king Lear. 

In the course of the day we visited Cameron, 
Thompson and Co.'s steam-loom manufactory. Each 
important part of its process from clearing the raw 
wool to the completion of the cloth, is conducted by 
the agency of steam. The power of the engine is 
fifty horses. The establishment cost forty thousand 
pounds sterling, and gives employment to four hun- 
dred hands. 

We dined with a pleasant party at Mrs. B.'s. 
Dr. G., a lecturer on Botany, was present. He 
conversed much concerning a projected botanical 
garden in the vicinity of the city. A delegation had 
been abroad in the neighbourhood in the morning to 
report on a proper site. Eight stations had been 
examined, among which the choice was to be deter- 
mined between two or three. The shares to sub- 
scribers are rated at ten guineas, and the amount of 
funds necessary for the completion of the garden is 
computed at six or seven thousand pounds. 

The inhabitants of Glasgow, as far as our obser- 
vatioii has extended, are remarkably frank and 
sociable. In hospitality, they yield not to the citi- 
zens of the ' Gude Town.' Two or three of their 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 21 

customs are peculiar. One is, to have a punch- 
bowl, graduated in size according to the numbers of 
the company present, placed upon the table after 
the first service of wine, to allow the guests an 
opportunity of resorting at pleasure to a more 
stimulating liquid. The beverage with which it is 
generously supplied, is usually hot, and is prepared 
by the presiding gentleman. From this capacious 
receiver the foot-glasses of the several guests are 
successively filled, till they themselves become 
comfortably furnished. It is proper to mention, 
that this liquor is not commonly produced till after 
the ladies have retired. Dram-drinking at dinner is 
getting out of vogue in this country. In the more 
respectable famihes of Edinburgh it is seldom prac- 
tised. When met with, it usually follows the pastry. 
A single flask of whiskey is then passed round the 
board to each individual of the company, and a small 
portion is drank undiluted. Often the same wine- 
glass circulates with it, and by the time of completing 
the circuit, if the company be numerous, presents, 
as might be expected, a very inviting brim to a 
delicate lip. Port-wine, made into a mixture with 
hot water and sugar, and thence termed negus^ is a 
very common drink after dinners and suppers. A 
larger and smaller glass are placed before each 
guest, and the gentlemen are expected to provide 
for themselves and the ladies next to them, if they 
are so fortunate as to be placed by the side of any. 



22 EXCURSION FROM 

A silver ladle is used to decant the liquor from one 
glass to another. 

Glasgow, April Ibth. — This morning I visited 
Willovi^-Bank, famous for its great milk-estabhsh- 
ment. A large portion of the population of Glasgow 
receive supplies from it. There are one hundred 
and eighty cows, which are kept in two great cover- 
ed areas, in rows fronting each other. Women as 
well as men are employed in the care of them, and 
one hand is deemed suflicient for ten cows. A 
steam-engine of four-horse power is connected with 
the establishment, by which the surplus milk is 
churned, the hay chopped, and the oats are thresh- 
ed J and much manual labour is thereby saved. 
At Willow-Bank, are also some fine hot, cold, and 
shower baths, which are much used by the inhabi- 
tants of Glasgow, Prices of bathing vary from one 
to three shillings sterling. 

At half past three P. M. I mounted a horse, and, 
in company with three other gentlemen rode to 
Jordan Hill, the elegant seat of Mr. S., six miles 
distant from the city. We left Glasgow by the 
Barony, proceeding along the Dumbarton road, and 
the beautiful windings of Clydesdale. Vegetation, I 
noticed, had sensibly advanced within three or four 
days, the larches now appearing almost in full ver- 
dure. Leaving the main road and passing the lodge 
into the pleasure grounds of Jordan Hill, we crossed 
a rivulet which was mentioned as the dividing line 
between the counties of Renfrew and Lanark ; the 



EDIJsBURGH TO DUBLIN. 23 

mansion-house being in Renfrew, and the lodge in 
Lanark. Mr. S. is a gentleman of great wealth, 
which he is reported to employ as a good almoner. 
He is held in high estimation, and is distinguished 
for his courteousness as well as philanthropy. Mrs. 
S. is a lady of pleasing appearance, a finely culti- 
vated mind, and an engaging frankness of manners. 
She is sister to Mrs. B., the initial of whose name 
has already occurred. 

These two ladies, independently of other attrac- 
tions, have a peculiar interest attached to them from 
the circumstance of their early and intimate con- 
nexion with the lady whose 'Letters from the 
Mountains,' have circulated extensively on either 
side of the Atlantic, and gnined for the author a 
distinguished reputation. The first in that series is 
addressed to Mrs. S., under her former name of 
E**** . anj jjj^jjy Q^ ^j^g ^^g^ beautiful which follow 
in the collection are returns for others sent, either 
from herself or Mrs. B. The ' Letters' themselves 
have obtained general suffrage as models, in their 
kind, of epistolary composition : and, notwithstanding 
the sneering opinion long since advanced by Pope, 
incontestably evince that the human heart is capable 
of unveiling to the inspection of a friend its inmost 
recesses, through the medium of written correspon- 
dence. The poet, it is well known, notwithstanding 
his intimate converse with men and manners, and 
his fancied thorough knowledge of the bias of motives 
and the workings of feeling, laboured through life 



24 EXCURSION FROM 

under inveterate prejudices in regard to his fellow 
men, and from a certain suspiciousness inseparable 
from his constitution, was accustomed to contemplate 
human nature with a mahgnant and jaundiced eye. 
Well versed in the arts of deception, and sensible of 
the sophistry which he often practised upon himself, 
and still oftener upon others, he considered all man- 
kind as being more or less adepts like himself in this 
science of petty self-knavery, and supposed them, 
even at those moments when they might be expect- 
ed to impart an unreserved confidence, rather seek- 
ing disguises by which to cloak their real sentiments, 
or to escape direct avowals of them. In his estimate 
of character, Pope was too apt to follow the maxim 
of the Roman poet, ' Homo sum^ et nihil humani 
a me alienum puto f and it would have been well if 
the mistake adverted to had been the only error of 
judgment into which he was drawn by his servile 
adoption of that illiberal sentiment. The many 
letters which he received from Swift alone, are an 
ample refutation of his assertion that an epistolary 
correspondence is an unsafe conductor of real and 
unsophisticated thought and feeling. To these 
might be added others from Atterbury and Arbuthnot ; 
whereas Pope's in reply abound, too often, in pointed 
conceits and studied elegancies. They want that 
easy flexibiUty indispensable to the perfection of this 
species of composition, and seem rather copies of 
the formal and stately epistles of Voiture, than 
o-enuine and undisguised effusions of the breast. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 25 

If art of any kind be requisite in letter-writing, it is 
the ' ars celandi^"^ the art of concealing its applica- 
tion. By a neglect of this, the letters of Pope are 
any thing but what they should be ; — as Essays^ 
they may be considered pleasing and beautiful, but 
as communications of friendship, they are a medley 
of dissimulation and pedantry. But to return from 
this digression to the lady whose ' Letters' gave rise 
unconsciousl}'^ lo these remarks. We perceive in 
her correspondence no disguise ; her expressions of 
feeling seem what they are, the breathmgs of an 
exuberant but delicate sensibility We feel that we 
are treated with a degree of respect ; that we are 
admitted to some share of personal and equal con- 
verse ; and that we are considered, if not full-grown, 
as at least to have passed that term of pupilage 
when the rattle is supposed to charm, and the sweet- 
meat frostings of a sickening sentiment to please. 
They admit us to an intimate communion with the 
wTiter's own vigorous and prolific mind, and whether 
they detail to us descriptions of scenery, delineations 
of character, or narrations of fact, we are conscious 
of perusing the remarks of one who knew well how 
to blend with the genuine impressions of a discrimi- 
nating judgment, and the associated suggestions of 
memory, the elegant embelli?hments of a vivid but 
chastised imagination. There is, it is true, a certain 
romantic interest connected with the scenes and 
characters which the writer describes ; but this 
results not from any apparent overcolouring on her 
3 



26 EXCURSION FROM 

part, but from the knowledge which we insensibly 
gain of the numerous incidents of her chequered 
and eventful life. We have no apprehensions lest 
the friends whom she introduces to us should be 
found, on a nearer approach, to owe much of their 
recommendation to the amiable but mistaken partial- 
ities of friendship. We receive them as she pre- 
sents them to us, without any internal misgivings ; 
and are convinced that the individuals whom she 
^elected as the associates of her earlier years, and 
who have proved in later life her faithful bosom 
repositories, are entitled to all estimation and regard. 
1 have been led, unintentionally, into a lengthened 
train of comment, when my object on commencing' 
the paragraph, was simply to sketch the few inci- 
dents ol the afternoon's excursion. I wdll therefore 
only add, that, though of Mrs. S. I cannot be supposed 
personally to know much, or of Mrs. B. much more, 
yet that much has no ways disappointed the opinion 
I had formed of the many excellencies in the cha- 
racters of either, through the pleasing and interest- 
ing intimations of Mrs. Grant of Laggan. 

At the dinner table of Jordan Hill, much was 
asked and said concerning America. I could not 
but be gratified on hearing many high encomiums 
passed upon my country, and particularly upon the 
character of the New-Englanders. Such favourable 
declarations are ever grateful to the foreigner, and 
he would fain receive them with emotions wholly 
abstracted from every undue local bias. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 27 

After dining, and previously to repairing to the 
drawing-room, I was conducted over the grounds. 
{ found them laid out with much taste, and diversified 
with several beautiful groupings and plantations of 
wood. Thej yield two or three very good points of 
view, from which may be discerned Dumbarton 
castle, the mouldering walls of Crookstone, the 
distant turrets of Bothwell, and the busy town of 
Paisley ; which last, however, is chiefly determined 
by its smoke. The Campsie Hills, or rather Fells^ 
as they are termed, are prominent objects in the 
scene. 

At 9, we left the hospitable mansion of Jordan 
Hill, and returned to Glasgow. A threatening shower 
afforded a motive for testing the speed of our horses ; 
but another, and a more powerful one with my friend 
and myself, was an engagement to meet at supper, a 
family which had paid us repeated civilities, and of 
which we were to take leave previously to our final 
departure from the city on the following morning. 
Two of the family we had known in Edinburgh, and 
were happy in reviving the acquaintance on our 
visit here. The evening was enlivened with excel- 
lent music. The elder of the young ladies, a very 
skilful performer, touched the keys of the piano 
with uncommon taste and execution, and accompanied 
some of the finest of the Scottish songs with her rich 
and melodious voice. Nor were our country's airs 
forgotten. Washington's March and Yankee Doodle 
were played ; and it need not be said that thoy lo^t 



28 EXCURSION FROM 

nothing in our associations, by being struck by the 
graceful hand of one of Caledonia's blooming and 
blushing fair. As my friend was taking a final leave 
of this country, and my own arrangements required 
my returning to Scotland, much was kindly said to 
me by this excellent family, to induce a promise that 
I would either join them in a comtemplated journey 
to Inverary and the West Highlands, after a few 
weeks, or visit them in a country retirement in Lanark 
sometime in the summer. ' You will do so,' said 
one on our taking leave ; ' You must,'' said another ; 
— ' Heaven willing,' replied I, but I left them with 
the painful impression that we were never more to 
meet. 

AYR, APRIL 16, 12 P. M. 

We had taken seats last night in the coach for this 
place, which was to leave Glasgow early this morn- 
ing ; but on rising, just in season for our departure, 
an accident, somewhat humorous, though vexatious, 
interposed unexpectedly an obstacle. It was one 
of those mistakes which result from the inattention 
and negligence of others, and remind me of the 
common-sense maxim of Dr. Franklin. — ' If you 
want any thing done, go yourself; if you do not, 
send ;'— a principle which, though rather safer of ap- 
plication in my own country, will serve very well, 
if occasionally remembered, in this. As it was 
deemed expedient that either my companion or my- 
self should proceed forthwith to Ayr, in order to se- 



£DINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 29 

cure seats in the public coach for Port Patrick, on 
the following day, and that the other should continue 
behind to correct the mistake, and complete some 
desired arrangements ; a turn of king George's head 
decided the question of remaining, in favour of my- 
self; and it was determined accordingly, that 1 
should follow in the afternoon's coach, I did not re- 
gret the detention, as it gave me an opportunity of 
seeing a few objects in Glasgow, which I had pre- 
viously neglected. Several of my friends, learning 
my delay, called to proffer the hospitalities of their 
respective families ; but these I declined accepting, 
as I was unwilling to repeat leave-takings. They 
attended me, however, to the Roman Catholiv- 
Church, a recent Gothic structure of some merit , 
to some singeing machines, so called, where the 
finest gauze is prepared, and receives its finish by 
being drawn over a red-hot cylinder of iron ; to an 
ingenious mechanical apparatus, driven by a stean? 
engine, where linen cloths are passed through all 
the stages of dressing, from a state of prime rough- 
ness to final packing ; — (and the whole for the 
moderate average price of nine shillings sterling 
per parcel of 24 yards,) and to the lecture room 
of Dr. * * * *, a gentleman much skilled in chemis 
try, who politely exhibited his apparatus, and per- 
tbrmed several curious and entertaining experiments 
with gas. 

At 4 P. M. I entered the Telegraph coach for 
Ayr, with feelings impressed with the many and 



30 EXCURSION FROM 

unremitting attentions which I had received since 
the evening of my arrival in Glasgow. The coach 
drove from the city in a cloud of dust, — an unusual 
annoyance in my own country at this season of the 
year. My route to tliis place was by Kingswell, 
Fenwick, Kilmarnock, and Monkton. Five miles 
after leaving Glasgow, I looked backed for a 
glimpse of Ben Lomond. A gentleman had men- 
tioned with great exactness, the spot where, if the 
air should prove clear, it might be seen ; and had 
apprised me of several circumstances by which to 
determine its appearance. Beyond the Campsie 
Fells, I discerned a towering conical height, streak- 
ed with snow, and partially veiled in mist, which I 
was willing to distinguish as the mountain describ- 
ed. 

For the first few miles, the country was fertile 
and productive ; beyond that, a dreary extensive 
tract succeeded, clothed with scanty verdure, and 
scarcely enlivened by the smoke of a single cabin ; 
after which, the country again improved, and con- 
tinued to do so as the road approached Ayr. Kil- 
marnock is a town famous for its weavers. There 
is an iron railway, the most extensive of the kind 
in North Britain, which has been constructed from 
that place to the harbour of Troon, solely at the 
expense of the duke of Portland. The town has 
had a more than common notoriety of late, from 
having given birth to several seditious meetings, 
which occasioned the arrest of two or three of th^ 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 31 

more suspected agents ; whose itrial, within a few 
days, has excited a strong sensation in the metro- 
polis, and resulted in their acquittal. On the way. 
I saw three or four half ruinous, castellated piles 
of building, but none of them worthy of remark. 
It was twilight when I entered Ayr, — a pretty, 
though irregular town. I recognized the two 
bridges, familiarly called the ' Brigs of Ayr,' span- 
ning the limpid waters of its interesting stream. 
My feelings and recollections, on approaching the 
town, were filled with Burns. — I found my friend 
impatiently awaiting my arrival. We were soon 
seated at a supper, which he had ordered to be 
in readiness ; and the remainder of the evening 
passed in various and enlivening conversation. 

PORT PATRICK, APRIL 17. 

We left Ayr at 7 this morning, in the pub- 
lic coach, drawn by two horses, — a proof that 
we were no longer in a great traveUing track. 
The vehicle had taken the name of Diligence ; 
a word, which every day's use along the road, 
has contracted into the more convenient term 
Dilly. A second view of Ayr, in the broader 
light of day, confirmed, in some degree, the im- 
pression which I had received of its prettiness : but, 
owing to its partial irregularity, and a few ill con- 
structed houses, on the whole 1 think it strikes best 
when seen at a distance, and forming a part of the 
landscape. It makes then a very good appearance. 
The town of Ayr contains 5,000 inhabitants, and 



32 EXCURSION FROx\i 

has improved much within a few years. Lately a 
theatre has been opened in it, which allows forty 
pounds for the full regular receipts of a night. 
It is probably the smallest town north of the Ouse, 
which is provided with such a luxurious append- 
age ; and this does not speak so favourably of the 
sober, staid habits of the people, as might be wish- 
ed. 

The morning proved uncommonly serene ; the 
air was mild, and the ra}^* of the sun, which shone 
with great splendor, were finely reflected from the 
peaceful bosom of the Ayr, and the still bonnier 
waters of the river Doon. The aspect of the 
country for many miles, was exceedingly lovely. 
There was more of woodland than I anticipated ; 
and, besides frequent and detached groups of trees, 
there were several extensive tracts which were 
beautifully covered. The peasantry, on our leaving 
Ayr, were seen actively at work ; the birds were 
carroUing their matin hymns, and the breeze, as it 
brushed over the landscape, was barely sufficient to 
curl the smoke which ascended from the few cabins 
that peeped from their shelters of coppice, emulous 
to form a part in the delightful scene. 

Two miles from the town, we came to the hut 
Tvere Burns was born. It is a low thatched building 
of a single story, forming the corner, and connected 
by the same roof with, two or three others of a 
similar size. A trifling bribe prevailed on the dri- 
ver of the Dilly to stop, while my companion and 
myself examined the interior of this humble dweV 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 33 

ling. A sign is affixed to the walls without, which 
bears the inscription which follows : — ' Burn's cot- 
tage, — Robert Burns, the Ayrshire poet, was born 
under this roof, on the 29th January, 1759.' Two 
small rooms occupy the whole floor of the house j 
in one of which, now used as a (kitchen, is a re- 
cess where stood the bed in which the poet was 
born. The other apartment is furnished with some 
neatness, and boasts an engraved view of the dwel- 
ling, and a large painting of Burns, which, from its 
size and style of execution, seems to have been in- 
tended for a tavern sign-board. The present occu- 
pier of the cabin, an elderly sawney-looking man, 
who seemed to have been never particularly ab- 
stemious in the use of whiskey, said that it was in 
that room that he last saw Burns, and then took a 
dram with him ; — adding, ' poor fellow.' He seem- 
ed nowise averse to repeating the draught even at 
this early hour ; and, accordingly leaving him 
enough for a double and triple portion, we mounted 
our seats and pursued our journey. Alloway Kirk, 
distant half a mile further, on the right, is pleasant- 
ly situated on the margin of the .Ooon, a few yards 
from the road. It is now unroofed. The walls, 
however, and belfrey remain, though in a ruinous 
state. \ small cemetery surrounds it. 

The Doon is a romantic Uttle stream. Its ' banks 
and braes' are indeed ' bonnie ;' — and we thought 
its various beauties abundantly entitled to the prai- 
ses which have been lavished upon them by the 



S4 EXCURSIOK FROM 

Ayrshire bard. The view from Carrick Hill, a little 
further on, was uncommonly pretty and extensive — 
the scenery soft and beautifully varied. Shortly af- 
ter, we passed the ruins of Baltarsan castle, and sub- 
sequently at no great distance, the nobler remains 
of Corseragwell abbey. This last, with its moulder- 
ing towers and cloisters, and arches, its moss-grown 
walls, and grass grown courts, was a most venerable 
and imposing object. Its order in a florid Gothic. 
The road the greater part of the day, followed 
closely the windings of the coast. The large rocky 
island of Arran, streaked with snow, the tall, stern 
cliff of Ailsea, and the abrupt iron-bounded shore of 
Kantyre, continued in sight for many miles. 

Leaving Kirk-Oswald, a pretty place on the sea- 
coast, where we breakfasted, the country became 
much more hilly ; and beyond Girvan, ten miles fur- 
ther, it assumed a very wild aspect. The soil was 
poor, and covered with slight verdure. A few 
sheep only were browsing among the heath and 
broom. For some miles, our path led us along a 
ledge which was cut from the precipice that shelved 
abruptly to the water's edge. We noticed many 
ravines, or fissures, at intervals, in the hilly ridge on 
our left, some of great depth. It was common also 
to see streams, or rather burns^ as they are termed, 
gushing through these openings and producing a fine 
effect. Several sea-views were very magnificent. 

We dined at a miserable inn at Ballantrae, and 
had as miserable fare. My food consisted of barley- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 35 

broth, oatmeal cakes and eggs. Leaving Ballantrae, 
the country became much more wild and bleak, than 
even it had appeared before. The hills were scan- 
tily covered with furze, and exhibited barely a few 
patches o^ heather. We entered a deep glen, where 
scarcely a single habitation was to be seen, which 
extended for three or four miles, till it terminated 
with a full view of the waters of Loch Ryan. The 
first sight of the lake, though it served to vary, could 
hardly be said to relieve the scene. As we proceed- 
ed, however, the hills near the loch, began to be 
covered with birches and broom ; and the road gra- 
dually became pleasanter, as it followed its margin 
— a firm, smooth beach, to Stranraer, a distance of 
nine miles. This town stands at the head of the 
lake, and is large and neat. Loch Ryan itself, is 
an estuary, extending nine or ten miles into the 
main land, and occupying a breadth of three or four. 
It would be tolerably pretty, if the country on each 
side of it were productive and well managed. A 
few boats, which we saw near Stranraer, skimming 
the surface of the lake, gave to the scene consider- 
able expression. 

From S. to Port Patrick, the road was good, and 
the country much improved. Two miles from Port 
P. we came in sight of St. George's channel, and 
saw distinctly beyond, in the horizon, the coast of Ire- 
land ; the first time of my seeing it since losing sight 
of the Wicklow mountains, while on my passage to 
Liverpool. Again, I beheld it with pleasure. We 



36 EXCURSION FROM 

find Port Patrick a neat and rather romantic village, 
built under an amphitheatre of hills, and extending 
round a small cove in a semicircular form. The 
harbour is well protected, and is almost enclosed 
by high ledges of rocks, which jut from the 
mainland, and exhibit some singular and fantastic 
shapes. We alighted at a small, but comfort- 
able inn, where the people are all civility. A 
cheerful fire of peat blazed in the grate, which 
indicatec^ our vicinity to Ireland. We have learnt 
that the packet for Donaghadee, will not sail 
till 12 o'clock, to-morrow. An opportunity, howev- 
er, was presented to cross the channel this evening, 
in a return carrier-smack. The master of th'^ ves- 
sel was very urgent that we should take passage 
with him, and offered to accommodate us for a sum 
much less than the regular packet fare. We had 
several reasons for declining the proposal. It is 
sufficient to say, that a journey of fifty-six miles over 
7k rugged tract of country, added to the known com- 
forts of an English Inn, left us little inclination to pur- 
sue immediately our course, whether by sea or land 
— much less to relinquish the prospect of a luxuri- 
ous bed, for a straitened birth in a miserable cabin.* 
The night is dark, and indicates hard weather. De- 
termining accordingly, to make the best of our situ- 
ation, we have ordered such comforts as the inn af- 

* As the event proved, however, if we had accepted the ofter. 
■^.ve should have gained thirty hours on our route. 



EDIKBURGH TO DUBLIN. 37 

fords, and are now employing the evening in conver- 
sation or in writing. 

BAY OF PORT PATRICK, APRIL 18 — JVOOBT. ^ 

I have just come on board the Westmoreland pack- 
et, for Donaghadee, and am attempting, with a miser- 
able pen which I found in the cabin, to fill up my 
journal. This morning I walked round the village of 
Port P. and climbed one of the hills which environ 
it. The bold, rocky shore which forms its harbour, 
struck my fancy very much. Ireland appeared in 
full view to the west. At 12, we took tickets for a 
passage in the packet for Donaghadee. The price 
of them was an half guinea each, exclusive of two or 
three minor charges. We are now standing ovei 
slowly to the Irish coast. The wind is ahead and 
light, and we shall not probably arrive there under 
several hours. The British coast is gradually reced- 
ing, and the Irish slowly enlarging on the view. 1 
left the former with some emotion — ^impatient to step 
foot upon the ' land of sweet Erin' ; a country 
where I expect to find much that is new to amuse 
and instruct me. 

Previously to taking a short farewell of Scotland, 
I will retrace one or two recollections of recent date. 
— I had occasion yesterday, to remark a singular re- 
semblance between a real and an imagined scene. 
Everj^ reader of novels, as well as of graver descrip- 
tive works, insensibly pictures to his fancy the vari- 
ous scenes which the author attempts to represent. 

4 



38 EXCURSION FROM 

No matter whether the views which he forms, ac- 
cord with those of the writer, or not. To himself, 
they are consistent, intelhgible, and unconfused. 
His fancy spreads a map where each object has its 
known and determined place, and should years inter- 
vene, between the delineation and its remembrance, 
the whole would rise, at the powerful bidding of 
some association, fresh, and as mechanically upon 
the view, as the drop and sliding scenes of theatric 
representation obey the shifting cords of the attend- 
ant. I need not say after this, that I have hereto- 
fore been conversant with tales of fancy, but pro- 
ceed to add, that Loch Ryan, whose dreary ex- 
panse of waters I yesterday first descried, a few 
miles distant from Stranraer, strongly reminded me of 
the idea which I had long ago formed of a lake men- 
tioned in a certain popular romance, to a castle near 
which the heroine is related to have been carried. 
There was the same cheerless, sterile aspect in the 
country around, which I conceived to enclose the 
supposed water in the romance to which I allude. 
The rocks seemed to project in the same rude and 
bold manner from the main land ; and I almost ex- 
pected to see the appalling figure of some Father 
Schedoni stalking amidst the gloom of the impending 
crags. 

But another and a more interesting recollection 
w^as this morning suggested to my mind, while tread- 
ing the hills of Port Patrick. I remembered that it 
was there, the celebrated colonel Gardiner, in the 
intervals of his engagements with the duties of a gar- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 39 

rlson, had often walked and enjoyed those ravishing, 
pious meditations, which his letters more than once 
intimate, and which the glowing pen of Doddridge 
has feelingly depicted. One passage, in a letter of 
that eminent believer, I well remembered. — ' I took 
a walk,'' said he, upon one occasion, ' upon the moun- 
tains which are over against Ireland; and I persuade 
myself, that were I capable of giving you a descrip- 
tion of what passed there, 3^ou would say that I had 
much better reason to remember my God, from the 
hills of Port Patrick, than David from the land of 
Jordan and of the Hermonites.' This passage, which 
forcibly expressed the ardours of his piety, induced 
a train of reflections, which it would be foreign to 
my purpose here to introduce ; reflections, however, 
which touched upon most of the facts of his singular 
and unearthly history, and which terminated, as ev- 
ery former review has done, in the conviction, that 
in more than one event of that extraordinary man's 
life, we may trace the indisputable interposition of 
the ' finger of God.' 

7 P. M. — I change a bad pen, and still more 
miserable ink, for a pencil, but little better. For 
the last several hours we have been becalmed, and 
have barely moved six miles from Port P. — At pre- 
sent there is scarcely a breath of air stirring, and 
what is worse, there is no immediate prospect of an 
increase. To add to the uneasiness of our situation, 
no stores were provided by us this morning, and it 
was an early hour when we breakfasted. The half- 



40 EXCURSION FROM 

guinea which we paid on coming on board, merely 
secures a passage ; every thing else being expected 
to be provided by the passenger. It did not occur to 
us to ascertain this before our departure ; and even if 
it had, it is doubtful whether we should have made 
any provision, as the prospect was, that we should 
be in Ireland in a few hours ; and we were told that 
no passage had exceeded half a day for six months. 
Inquiring of the skipper, if there were any stores 
in the vessel, I found nothing except oatcakes and 
some shreds of salt heef; no biscuit, no ale, no beer. 
There is whiskey, indeed, but that I never drink — 
and water, which is not fit to be tasted. I gave 
the man, however a doceur^ desiring him to fur- 
nish what he could, and have just come up from 
inspecting, (for I can hardly say feeding upon) the 
banquet. It consisted of a jug of water, a broken 
plate of oatcakes, and two or three strips of greasy 
beef, which in appearance, and for ought I know, in 
taste, resembled the braids of a drayman's whip-lash. 
A single jack-knife completed the furniture of the 
table. Hungry as I was, a piece of oatcake was all 
I could eat, and I have just left the cabin, with the 
apprehension, that if the calm continues a day lon- 
ger, there will inevitably be a famine on board. 

These oatcakes, for which Scotland is renowned, 
are at best an indifferent diet. As made by some of 
the better families, they become barely tolerable ; 
but in general they are poor enough. It is usual to 
find them a quarter or half an inch in thickness. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 41 

The meal of which they are composed is very 
coarse ; and so dry are they, that unless the fauces 
are lubricated by some solvent draught, immediate- 
ly on eating a piece, a stranger may come well nigh 
being choked 1 have sometimes, when a little 
thirsty, inadvertently taken a piece of this bread into 
my mouth, without having any water or other liquid 
just at hand, and on the first attempt at mastication, 
have had my throat filled with the dust, and have 
felt it insinuating itself into every pore and vesicle 
of my lungs. The dough which is made of the bran 
of Indian corn, and given to poultry, by the farmers 
of America, would, if baked upon a tin, form a bread 
not unlike, 1 can conceive^ the oatcakes of Scotland, 
— certainly not inferior to them in qualit}^ 

Mr. H. * * * * and myself, are the only cabin pas- 
sengers. There are many others in the vessel, but 
they belong to the steerage. Seven or eight of 
these are women, of whom, two or three have chil- 
dren. I am now seated on the binnacle, over the 
companion-way. A group of these women are sit- 
ting a few feet to my right, upon the main deck, 
under the long-boat ; each exhibiting a countenance 
which Hogarth might have taken for a caricature of 
wo. Another woman, who has been extremely sick, 
is at present lying under the gunwale before me, 
asleep, and breathing with a most musical nasal ca- 
dence — the helmsman at my left, is standing listless 
over the tiller, casting an apparentl}^ vacant gaze 
around, but hoping, no doubt, that every passing 

4 *■ 



4;^ EXCURSIOIS FRO.M 

cloud will bring with it wind. H. * * * * is leaning 
over the bulwarks, half inclined to give up to sickness, 
which has been threatening him ever since he came 
on board. The sailors are carousing in the forecas- 
tle ; the confused sounds of their merriment are one 
moment swelling upon the ear, and the next, sink- 
ing away, till a new ebullition of wit produces a 
fresh shout of laughter. ' Having worn out my own 
pencil, I have borrowed that of my companion, and 
am employing it merely for the sake of beguiling 
time. As it is becoming cool, however, I have de- 
termined to go below, to try by sleep, to cheat time 
more effectually, in hopes that a few hours will pro- 
duce some change, or rather an increase in the 
wind. 

April 19, 5 A. M. — I have just come on deck, af- 
ter a broken night's rest. A breeze has sprung up, 
and we are this moment entering the small bay of 
Donaghadee. The men are employed in handing 
the sails. — The town of Donaghadee is neat in its 
appearance ; the houses are white-washed, which 
seems one indication of our having crossed the chan- 
nel. The fields are green ; and I perceive, what I 
did not expect, a few trees along the coast. The 
skipper has gone below for our baggage, and the 
boat is getting ready to take us ashore. 

DOBTAGHADEE, 6 A. M. 

A few moments after, we found ourselves on land. 
There is a magic in that word ; and the embarrass- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 43 

ing situation in which we were placed, on board the 
packet, did not diminish the joy which we felt in 
realizing a change. We were threatened with some 
difficulty at the Custom-house, in having our lug- 
gage passed — and were told that we must wait till 
the officer was risen, which would not be till nine. 
A shilling, however, obviated the hindrance, and 
shortly after, we were conducted to the small inn 
where I am at present writing. 

On entering a house, for the first time, in a 
strange country, it is natural to look around in search 
of something new. As I came into our present sit- 
ting-room, the tirst, of course, which I have seen in 
Ireland, 1 glanced my eye hastily over it, but saw 
nothing particularly to distinguish it from a com- 
fortable apartment, of a similar size, in any common 
American house. Two or three well-rubbed tables, 
and half a dozen hair-bottomed chairs are ranged 
round the room, and a small fire of peat burns in 
the grate. The last, it is true, differs from our 
generous wood fires. We have just risen from a 
frugal, but well-served breakfast, consisting of eggs, 
tea, dry toast, excellent butter and cream. The 
people of the house are very civil — we have made 
an arrangement to leave this place forthwith, in the 
stage-coach for Belfast. The horn is this moment 
sounding, a summons to ' gang awa,' 



44 EXCURSION FROi¥ 

BELFAST, DONJTEGAIiL ARMS, aUARTER PAST 10 A. M. 

Leaving Donaghadee, I mounted the top of the 
coach, and occupied a seat with the guard. We 
passed, near the town, a high conical mound, resemh- 
ling the Silbury-hill Barrow, on the great SaHsbury 
downs, in England. The guard said that all he knevT 
about it was, that it was thrown up by the ancient 
inhabitants of this part of the island, ' to intrench 
themselves from the enemy.' My itinerary states 
that it is of Danish origin. The country through 
which we passed, appeared generally much richer, 
and in higher cultivation than any I have seen in 
Scotland, except the Lothians and Roxburghshire. 
Instead of stone walls, which accompanied us most 
of the way from Kilmarnock to Port Patrick wher6 
the land was divided at all, we perceived pretty em- 
bankments of earth, about three or four feet high, 
clothed with verdant turf, and sometimes topped 
with rows of hawthorn. These, enclosmg the fields, 
and intersecting the country in every direction, add- 
ed much to the enamelled beauty of the landscape. 
The fields too, we noticed, were of a much deeper 
green than those which we had left in Scotland, — 
while the houses presented often very striking con- 
trasts to each other. Some of them were uncommon- 
ly mean and comfortless; and many, on the other 
hand, remarkable for their neatness. The former 
were generally low, of a single story, frequently 
constructed of mud, and having thatched roofs, with 
tiled or ground floors. The better houses were 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 45 

white-washed, and surrounded with parterres of 
gooseberry and flowering shrubs. We saw heaps of 
turf, seemingly the only fuel, piled in the yards of 
most of the dwellings. It gave us pleasure to see 
some windmills also, — a novel sight to us who have 
just come from Scotland. They contributed to impart 
an air of industry and bustle to the landscape. Ban- 
gor, the town through which we first passed, after leav- 
ing Donaghadee, is rather large and populous. It has 
a fine church, which resembles, I thought, though on 
a smaller scale, the celebrated church at Ross, in 
Gloucestershire, whose tower. Pope has significantly 
denominated the ' heaven directed spire.' Between 
Newtonards and Ballyrogan we passed Derry house, 
the ancient seat of the earls of Londonderry, the 
ancestors of Lord Castlereagh, and the place where 
that distinguished nobleman was born. It is situated 
not far from Lough Strangford. 

Before leaving Glasgow, I purchased an Highland 
cap, or bonnet, as it is called, for the convenience of 
wearing in travelling. It is frequently seen in the 
Lowlands, and is more comfortable in a carriage than 
a round hat. It excited, however, more attention than 
I could have wished. It has so happened that the 42d 
and 92d Highland regiments are ordered to this coun- 
try, by the way of Port Patrick. The former were on 
the point of leaving Glasgow at the time that we did, 
and the latter had actually marched from Edinburgh, 
several days before. My bonnet, accordingly, which at 
another time would have passed unobserved, has led 



46 EXCURSION FROM 

many to suppose me to belong to the army. While 
on my route from Glasgow, I heard several times the 
expression, as I was passing, ' There goes a Water- 
loo cap.' The landlord of Port Patrick at first took 
me for an Highland officer ; and on the morning that 
I embarked, I was several times asked if I was 
attached to that body of military, which was ex- 
pected to cross over that day. A similar mistake 
prevailed on my reaching the opposite shore, and 
many questions were put concerning the move- 
ments of the two regiments. It was not in 
every instance that I cared about undeceiving the 
inquirer ; for, in the first place, it did no good, and 
in the second, a positive benefit was otherwise 
gained. For such is the high character which 
these troops have obtained by their brave and gal- 
lant conduct, that they are every where welcomed 
with demonstrations of respect ; although many of 
the Irish have reason to look upon them with some 
distrust, 9§ coming to quell and overawe the spirit 
of sedition. Their places in Scotland are supplied 
by the Connaught rangers, and other Irish contin- 
gents ; an excellent policy on the part of govern- 
ment, to prevent a too cordial sympathy between the 
soldiery of a garrison and the neighbouring commu- 
nity, and particularly with the state prisoners, who, 
by virtue of the present suspension of the habeas 
corpus, are frequently seized on suspicion, and whom, 
the former are appointed to guard. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 4T 

For the last few miles before arriving at Belfast, I 
took a seat in the inside of the coach, and found there 
an elderly, pleasant, well-dressed man, with whom I 
soon entered into an agreeable conversation. He 
also took me to be an Highland officer ; but I prefer- 
red to set him right upon this point, although 1 left 
him to suppose me a Scotchman, and, as I afterwards 
perceived from his conversation, a native of Edin- 
burgh. The mistake led to some remarks connect- 
ed with himself. He had been in the army former- 
ly ; and having served in the American revolutionary 
war, amused me much by some information which he 
undertook to give respecting my countrymen — or 
' the rebels,' as he pertinaciously called them. He 
gave me an account of Boston, and its prodigious long 
wharf, the greatest, he said, that he had ever seen. 
He spoke of Bunker's hill, and described the action 
which was fought there. — He accounted for the un- 
usually large number of officers killed on that occa- 
sion, by saying, that many of the younger of them, 
several of whom were of his own acquaintance, 
volunteered to go out and witness the fun with the 
Yankees^ as they expressed it ; and, of course, the 
whole number was uncommonly and disproportiona- 
bly great. He did not think that the Americans dis- 
covered much gallantry in any action in which he saw 
them engaged. The militia, and other hasty levies, 
behaved often, he said, very shamefull3^ 

I asked if the Americans were, on the whole, 
pretty well civilized ; adding, that I supposed they 



48 EXCURSION FROM 

were much behind our countrymen, (meaning those 
of the united kingdom.) ' Why, sir,' said he, ' I 
don't know that ; but I am far from thinking it. 
They have in America, some cities as fine as you 
may see in any part of Europe. At least this was 
getting to be the case when 1 was there, thirty years 
or more ago ; and they must have improved very 
much since. In my belief, sir, if you were dropped 
from the clouds upon the older settlements of Ame- 
rica, particularly in the northern provinces^^ and 
were not previously to be informed on what part of 
the globe you were to be set down, you would not 
know that you were out of your own country.^ — 1 
thought so too, but did not mention the additional 
grounds which I had for entertaining the opinion. 

The guard of the coach, whom I have already 
mentioned, I found possessed of some dry humour, 
and a gpod deal of honest feeling. He told me, 
that he should return with the coach to Donaghadee 
at 12 this day, (a distance, as we came, of eighteen 
or twenty miles,) and that, in this manner, he had 
been going backwards and forwards between the two 
places for nearly three years. ' I am downright 
sick of it, sir,' said he, ' and cannot stand it much 
longer. 'Tis the hardest work that I ever had yet. 
Oftentimes I have little or nothing to do for the 
whole distance, but to sit still and look about ; and 
I know every bunch of thorn along the road. If I 

* i. e. States. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIx^f. 49 

had alvvajs a pleasant gentleman like you, or that 
other young gentleman forward, who would converse 
with me, I should be satisfied.' I asked him if he 
did not like Ireland ? — ' 1 ought^ sir.' ' Ought, but 
don't you ?' — '• I ought, sir, I say again, but 1 like 
England better, and Scotland too, Scotland 1 like 
better.' ' How happens that ?' — ' Why there, there 
are good people who would have kept me from 
going astray. I have been a wild dog in my day, 
sir, and I am certain I should have been better, had 
there been any here to check me.' ' Do you mean 
that the people in Ireland are all bad ?' — ' Why no, 
sir, not quite that ; they mean well enough, I suppose, 
but they are all too much in the harum-scarum line^ 
like myself. The old people never stopped mo 
when I went wrong, but were alwa3's ready to join 
in any deviltry that I was about. I have been a 
sad dog,' he repeated, ' but would give (if 1 had 
them,) an hundred thousand guineas — bnnging his 
hand with great force upon his knee — ^ would give 
an hundred thousand guineas, if 1 were a good man 
now.' ' Oh, well,' said I, ' if you wish it so strongh'-, 
I have great hopes that you will be so soon.' — 
' Would that I might, sir ; and I am tJmiking of it 
every day as I am passing along this road. But I 
keep putting it off — 'tis my nature, sir.' 

' I am glad,' said I, ' that you like my country.' 
• What, England, sir ? You're from England ?' — 
'Scotland, surely,' said I. 'That can't be, sir; 
you're from Edinburgh then ? but after all, I suspect 



50 EXCURSION FROM 

you're an Englishman.' ' Why true, I was in En- 
gland first, but I have been in Scotland for some 
time.' ' Ah now, sir,' said he, ' don't expect to 
catch a weasel asleep in the morning. I knew you 
were an Englishman when you first spoke.' 

His name is George Sloans. He was born in 
Antrim, had served in the army, and was quartered 
at York, Newcastle, and North and South Shields. 
At the latter place, he said that he had passed the 
happiest part of his life. ' In the first place I was 
appointed sergeant, and was very much respected ; 
next, it was my business to oversee the putting up 
of a small bit of a fort there ; so I had nothing to do 
but to hold my head up — put my hands so' — (placing 
them a kimbo,) ' walk about — give my orders^ and go 
into the water just when I pleased."^ — He appeared to 
be turned of fifty-five, and had a frank, careless air 
and countenance. His brogue was not very percep- 
tible, and his English, in other respects good. 

DUBLIN, APRIL 21, EVENING. 

After writing the above, objects crowded so rapidly 
upon me, and it took so much time to attempt giving 
any correction to my journal, or preserving even 
sketches of what transpired, that I was obliged to 
defer the labour, and only note a few hints which I 
shall now attempt to dilate. 

We had letters in Belfast to two gentlemen, each 
highly respectable in their professions ; one a clergy- 
man, and the other a physician. Enough was said 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIX. 51 

for the eulogium of the former, in a single remark 
which was made by the fellow passenger who accom- 
panied us, as I have mentioned, to Belfast. I inquired 
if he knew Dr. B * * * * ? — ' Know him, sir,' said 
he, ' every body knows him about here.' He then 
mentioned, what, indeed, I had learnt before, that 
the gentleman was distinguished for his philanthropy, 
and was held in great estimation throughout this 
whole section of country. Unfortunately for us, 
they were both out when we called ; the physician 
being absent on a journey, and the other gentleman 
being in attendance, in an official capacity, at a 
meeting of the directors of some charitable institu- 
tion, from which he was not expected to be released 
till a late hour in the day. We were introduced, 
however, to his family ; and they evinced a de-lx^ 
to show us many civilities, which our arrangements 
did not permit us to accept. Mr. B * * * *, son to 
the Rev. Dr. and a merchant by profession, politely 
conducted us round the city. We visited with him, 
the quays, the exchange, the custom-house, the inte- 
rior of St. George's chapel, — an elegant structure ; — 
the library, and the subscription reading-room. Our 
names were entered on the books of the two last, 
which gave a right to use for a month to come, any 
of the papers or volumes belonging to each institu- 
tion. Our plans precluded our accepting further 
civihties — for such had been the vexatious delay 
occasioned by our passage across the channel, that 
we were determined to continue our journey ^^ 



£2 EXCURSION FROM 

soon as might be ; and besides, Vv'e were particularly 
desirous of passing the following day, which was 
Sunday, in DubUn. 

Belffist is a populous, well-built town, containing 
thirty thousand inhabitants, of whom, four thousand 
are Roman Catholics. It is situated at the head of 
the Carrickfergus bay, on the river Lagan, which 
there discharges itself. Over this stream, there has 
lately been constructed a magnificent stone bridge, 
of twenty-one arches ; three of which are in the 
county of Antrim, the others in Down. The houses 
are chiefly built of bricks, instead of freestone, as in 
the Scotch cities ; and these are not of the dingy 
colour common in England, but are of a bright red, 
and in some instances painted. Belfast has an ex- 
tensive commerce, but trades chiefly, I believe, with 
the West Indies. Its manufactures are very consi- 
derable ; the principal branch consists in the weav- 
ing of linens and cottons ; but the cotton manufac- 
ture is becoming, I was told, rather the more 
flourishing. 

Vv'e took a hasty dinner at Belfast, and remarked 
that the potatoes were no better than in America. — 
At 4 P. M. we entered the stage-coach for Dublin, 
distant eighty miles. The whole day had proved 
iine, but what remained of it was beautiful. Our 
first stage was to Lisburn, a neat and pretty town. 
Several villages, which we passed on the way there, 
pleased us very much. The country from Belfast 
to Lisburn, and thence to Dromore, is most lovely. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 53 

It has been well called the garden of Ireland ; there 
being no spot of the same extent, in any part of the 
isle, which possesses equal beauty with this district 
in Ulster. We saw a number of fine seats be- 
longing to the nobiUty and more opulent gentry ; 
and near Hillsborough, passed the palace of the 
bishop of Dromore, lately the residence of the 
lamented Dr. Percy. 

. Beggars were frequent along the route. At the 
town of Dromore, while we were stopping to take 
a fresh relay, I was accosted by one, with — ' Heaven 
bless you, dear sir ; pray give a poor old woman 
one ha'-penny to keep her from starving — an' plase 
your honour, an happy eternity be with you — one 
single ha'-penny ; — may you never want for money 
nor meat, your honour — only one ha'-penny, dear.' 
— I threw her a few pence, and the coach drove off. 
It was common to see by the way-side, mounds 
called here raths, all resembling tumuli, or the 
larger barrows which abound in the south of En- 
gland. They seem to be of great age, and are 
mostly referred by antiquaries to periods even 
earlier than the Danish invasion. The better kinds 
of cottages which we saw, were very comfortable in 
appearance ; all of them were well white-washed, 
and generally, they had little gardens or shrubberies 
before them. The fields displaj-ed a deeper ver- 
dure than it is usual to see in America : — many of 
the trees were in full leaf, and vegetation of all 
kinds had made a considerable progress. Several 

5* 



54 EXCURSION FROM 

ruinous piles of antique structures were passed, but 
none of them possessed much interest. A little 
before ten in the evening, we entered Newrj, 
thirty miles from Belfast, and there stopped to sup. 

At half past ten, we again entered the coach, and 
resumed our journey towards this city. The night 
was clear — the stars sparkled with unusual lustre, — 
and the coach-lamps admitted our seeing every thing 
immediately along the road, with tolerable distinct- 
ness. Our route from Newry was by Dundaik, 
Castle Bellingham, Dunleer, Drogheda, Balruddery, 
and Swords. It gave us pleasure to be informed that 
we should lose nothing of particular interest, for 
the next twenty-five miles. Between Newry and 
Dundaik, we travelled over some high and rugged 
ground — the road chiefly ascending for the first five 
miles, and descending the remaining five. At Dun- 
daik, a very pleasant and intelligent gentleman 
joined us, and continued in company till our arrival 
here. He was returning from the north, where he 
had been on a visit to the Giant's Causeway ; — and 
gave much information respecting the comparative 
state of Ulster, and also of Leinster, another of the 
four Irish provinces, which we were just entering. 

Day dawned upon us at half past three ; half an 
hour before our arrival at Drogheda. That town is 
large, and the streets through which we drove, 
appeared well built ; chiefly of brick. It is situated 
on the Boyne, a river famous for the battle which 
was fought on its banks in 1690, by king William 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 55 

against the forces of James 2d. The field of action 
was two miles distant from Drogheda, up the river. 
A splendid monument marks the spot. I beheld the 
stream with interest ; and recalled the emotions 
which I had often felt in my early boyhood on lis- 
tening to the fine tune of the ' Boyne Water.' 

At Swords we saw a remarkably curious tower, 
the date and precise object of which are wholly 
unknown. It is built of stone, and is seventy or 
eighty feet in height. It tapers gradually from the 
base, and is of narrow circuit compared with its 
altitude. There are a number of loop-holes cut 
through its walls similar to those seen in the old 
English feudal castles.* Near it are the ruins of a 
church, the tower of which is very perfect ; — and at 
a little remove further the noble remains of an 
immense structure, which, from the parapets upon 
the walls and the embattled turrets at the angles, 
several of which remain entire, — seems to have 
been a castle, formerly of great strength. There 
are several other mutilated edifices around, and 
some small mounds, or raths. Swords was formerly 

* Since writing the above I have conversed with two or three 
gentlemen, who have inquired much into the antiquities of 
Ireland, respecting this and similar towers v.-hich are found in 
the country. They confirm the opinion that they defy all 
satisfactory research : — but think that they are Druidical struc- 
tures, originally intended as places of worship. Their date 
therefore, they suppose, to be anterior to the introduction ff 
■cluistiaaity into Ireland. (Dubliriy April 28.) 



56 EXCURSION FROM 

a city of great consequence, and the seat, if I mistake 
not, of the ancient kings of Leinster and Ulster. It 
is now very much reduced, and exhibits little else 
than the ruins of its former grandeur. 

The remainder of our ride to Dublin, distant 
eight miles was through a pleasing and picturesque 
country : — rather too flat perhaps, but diversified 
with some gentle swells — A range of high grounds, 
or mountains, bounded the prospect to the west and 
north. Three miles from Dublin, we first came in 
sight of this magnificent city. The view was 
striking, although not quite as much so as was 
anticipated. As we approached, however, it im- 
proved very much. The houses appeared regularly 
built, and evidently not so high as many in Edin- 
burgh. They are composed of brick chiefly ; and 
give a fine relief to the deep verdure of the parks 
and pleasure grounds which environ the city. We 
did not perceive so many spires and domes rising 
from the town, as we wished and indeed expected to 
see. The suburbs also through which we drove 
were far from looking well ; and in fact would have 
disappointed us exceedingly had we not have been 
prepared for seeing them. But on escaping these, 
we entered some fine streets, and soon came into 
Rutland-Square, which was magnificent indeed. The 
trees and small-wood in the central area were in full 
leaf. We proceeded next through Sackville-street, 
resembling, though not quite so broad, the upper 
part of Market-street in Philadelphia. A noble 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 57 

monument is erected at the head of it in honour of 
Nelson ; — on the four sides of the pedestal of which, 
the names of St. Vincent, Nile, Copenhagen and 
Trafalgar are severally inscribed. I estimated its 
height at 150 feet. Similar, though not quite so 
costly monument^) in memory of this hero, I meet 
every where in the Three Kingdoms. Leaving this, 
we crossed the Litfey by the Carlisle-bridge, entered 
Westmoreland-street and soon found ourselves in a 
spacious area which we easily distinguished as the 
College-green. Here I alighted with Mr. H * * * * ; 
— and having ordered a porter, we repaired to the 
Commercial Buildings ; a splendid hotel, which was 
a few yards distant. 

We were surprised on coming into this city, to find 
many shops open, (it being Sunday.) and numbers of 
people employed apparently as in week days. Our 
fellow passenger had apprised us that this would be 
the case ; and explained it by saying that a large 
proportion of the population of Dublin was compos- 
ed of Roman Catholics, who thought that by observ- 
ing some of the forms prescribed by the church, a 
full dispensation might be claimed for these licentious 
practices. 

After breakfast, we walked to Trinity College, to 
attend divine service in the chapel. It commenced 
at half past nine. Many students were presrnt; at- 
tired' in white habits, and having the same caps 
which are worn by the members of Fngi'ish Univer- 
sities. A black gown is the designating dress on 



#8 EXCURSION FROM 

week days. The service was the same with that in 
the cathedral churches in England. An excellent 
sermon was delivered hy a gentleman, formerly a 
fellow in the college, and now settled in some coun- 
try benefice. The chanting and singing pleased us 
very much. The chapel is large, and has an high 
vaulted ceiling. Its order is Ionic ; two pilasters of 
this kind occupying the spaces between each window. 
The ceiling is finely stuccoed, and the whole is rich- 
ly ornamented. In fact, the brilliant white of the 
walls, contrasted with the crimson curtains of the 
window, gave to the chapel an appearance, I thought, 
rather too gaudy for a place of christian worship. 

Understanding that the anniversary sermon before 
the Charitable Orphan Institution was to be preached 
at St. Peter's church at twelve, and that the lord lieu- 
tenant* was to be present, and, what is unusual, to 
come instate, we repaired there immediately on leav- 
ing the college chapel. The cavalcade of his excel- 
lency passed us, while on our walk and within a short 
distance of the church. A troop of cavalry preceded 
it ; followed by three coaches, in which were some 
of the officers of the lord lieutenant's household. 
Next came his own carriage drawn by six horses, 
superbly caparisoned. — Four powdered footmen in 
state liveries stood behind ; who, with the driver 
and outriders, more resembled stage pageants than 
men in real life. The lord lieutenant was accompa- 

* The Earl of Whitworth ; late Ambassador to France. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 69 

nied in his coach by his wife, (the dutchess of Dor- 
set,) his chaplain, and an officer in full dress uniform 
whose name and rank we did not learn. Several oth- 
er carriages closed the procession. A detachment 
of soldiers was drawn up to receive the lord lieu- 
tenant before the door of the church ; and he alight- 
ed amidst a salute of arms, and the flourish of drums 
and trumpets. The ceremony was repeated when 
he returned from church : the guard keeping duty 
in the mean while at the door. 

We were fortunate in procuring a pass, and in 
getting good stations in the church. The lord 
lieutenant is a fine looking man, and appears 
about fifty five. His person is tall and rather 
slender ; but graceful and erect. His countenance 
possessed something which brought to mind very 
much that of the present Governor of Massa- 
chusetts. The contour of the t<wo faces is very 
like. The lord lieutenant was dressed in a splen- 
did uniform of red and buff, and wore a star on 
his left breast. His coat was faced with blue ; and 
over it was a military frock coat of the same colour. 
The dress of the lady lieutenant was very rich, but 
there was nothing particular to mark it. It resem- 
bled that of any fashionable lady, on a parade occa- 
sion, in our simple republic. Her countenance was 
agreeable and indicative of benevolence : rather good 
humoured, than positively handsome. The lord 
lieutenant and the dutchess occupied front seats in 
the gallery, hung with crimson cloth fringed with 



60 EXCURSION FROM 

gold. Their attendants waited behind. They gave 
great attention to the whole service ; the former 
particularly. Prayers were read for him under the 
title of ' His excellency the Lord Lieutenant general 
and Governor general of Ireland.' 

The orphans, in number 200, occupied seats in an 
opposite gallery. They were neatly attired, and all 
appeared of an age between seven and fourteen. 
They accompanied the organ with their voices, and 
the music was uncommonly fine. The church of 
England service we had the pleasure to hear read 
by the ingenious Mr. Maturin, curate of St. Peters ; 
and an appropriate discourse was prefiched by Mr. 

D. from the words, ' The Lord is my Shepherd.' 

Mr. D. is a popular clergyman and deservedly 

so. In the course of the service, the orphans de- 
scended from the gallery, and entered, unobserved, 
the floor of the chfrrch bj another passage, and walk- 
ed slowly in review, two by two, singing a hymn 
prepared for the occasion. It was a most interest- 
ing, I had almost said, a painful spectacle, and was 
sufficient to draw a tear from every eye. The col- 
lection after the services were over, was liberal ; it 
could not be otherwise. 

From St. Peter^s we went to the Cathedral of St. 
Patrick, the service of which commenced at 3, P. 
M. and was conducted throughout in a most slovenly 
and careless manner, as well by the officiating cler«- 
gyman, as the congregation. The latter, particular- 
ly the ladies, were smiling and conversing in audible 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 61 

whispers with each other; or looking about with an 
air of nonchalance during the whole of the exercis- 
es. Here however, as at the College chapel in the 
morning-, the music was very good : and the organ 
was better played than I remember to have heard, 
except in the cathedral of Durham. The excel- 
lence of the music led me to notice the perform- 
ers : and it struck me that they were the same who 
had borne a part in the chapel services. On in- 
quiry I learnt that it was actually the same choir : 
and that it had sung intermediately at Christ's 
church, and was also to perform there in the even- 
ing. This is its stated Sabbath duty, and a pretty 
laborious one, too. It is suflicient however to say 
in commendation of this pcripatetick band, that it has 
had the honour of being led hy sir John Stevenson. 
St. Patrick's is nowise remarkable as a cathedral. 
It is a huge, cumbrous pile of building, erected in 
the old part of the city, and in one of the worst pos- 
sible situations. The name of Swift, it is true, gives 
it interest. His ashes are interred beneath the pave- 
ment ; and also those of Mrs. Hester Johnson, the 
' Stella' of that whimsical poet. 'J here is an appro- 
priate inscription to the memory of the latter; in 
English, as it should be. That of Swift is in Latin 
and was written by himself The concluding words 
impress a good moral : 

" Abi, viator, et imitaxe si potcris, 

" Strenuuin pro viiili libertaiis Viudicatorem :" 

which may be literally rendered ; — 



m EXCURSION FROM 

Go passenger, and copy if you can, 

Th' intrepid champion of the rights of man. 

In a corner of the cathedral there is another monu- 
ment which Swift erected, as an inscription declares, 
in acknowledgment of the meritorious and faithful 
deeds of a valued servant. 

If our surprise, yesterday, on entering the city was 
great, to notice week-day occupations on a Sabbath, it 
was increased, as might be supposed, by what we be- 
held afterwards in our walks. Almost every pastry 
cook's room, eating houses of various descriptions, 
druggists' shops, and many of other kinds, were open, 
and people were purchasing in them as freely as up- 
on other days. Companies of boys were also seen 
in the streets, playing marbles and handball. 

Passing along the college green early this morn- 
ing, 1 had scarcely proceeded forty yards from my 
lodgings, when I was saluted by the cry of the ' Ame- 
rican President's speech.' The hawker on proclaim- 
ing the notice, held out a newspaper which contain- 
ed it, directly before me. I was amused with the 
coincidence ; that in a city which is, or seems to be, 
much more detached from America than either Lon- 
don or Edinburgh, the very Jirst cry which I heard 
should announce the inaugural speech of my sove- 
reign ; for sovereign in fact he may be called, not- 
withstanding the mildness of our revered constitu- 
tion. 

The greater part of this day has been engrossed 
by the labour of presenting letters recommendatory. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 63 

The result will hereafter appear. As the families 
to whom we were addressed live in different parts 
of the city, and some almost out of it, the employ- 
ment has been productive of the additional advan- 
tage of giving us a bird's eye view of this metropo- 
hs. 

A second look at Rutland Square confirmed the 
opinion we had formed of its beauty on our entrSe 
into the city. Stephen's green disappointed expec- 
tation. It can boast of little else than its size ; be- 
ing a mile round, and probably therefore the largest 
square in Europe. The houses exhibit almost all 
the common, and some very uncommon shapes. 
They are ranged too with little attention to unifor- 
mity or elegance. Mount-Joy and Merion squares 
are each fine ; though the latter is the better. The 
Liffey which flows through Dublin is a paltry stream, 
not one whit better in appearance than the river 
Passaick, just above the falls in New Jersey. It 
rises on the borders of Kildare, only a few miles dis- 
tant, and, after pursuing a very meandering course, 
enters the city which it intersects in almost equal 
parts. The labour and enterprise of the people 
here have succeeded happily in both widening and 
deepening its channel; and in constructing, too, 
some noble quays along its magin. Still howevev 
when the tide is out, its bed resembles more the 
artificial hollow of a moat, than the channel of a 
respectable stream. 



64 EXCURSION FROM 

And here it may not be amiss to interpose a ca- 
veat in regard to the familiar use, in these Islands, 
of this term '• River.' It generally has a great 
looseness of acceptance, and is sometimes applied 
with a latitude truly laughable. In the vocabulary 
of the American, the name imports dignity, and is 
given, par eminence^ to the larger and more majestic 
streams of his native land ; in the same way that the 
term Lake, which here is arrogated by every pool, 
is there yielded as a tribute to those mighty expan- 
sions of water, the Caspians of the New World. Nor 
do I mean by this to disparage the rivers of Great 
Britain, hy comparing them with the greater North 
American streams ; the Mississippi and the Missouri. 
An inhabitant of the Atlantic states, though conscious 
that they are bis property, has in fact as little con- 
cern with those kingly floods, as an Englishman 
with the Danube or the Rhone. And yet should he 
come here impressed simply with the recollection 
of what he has seen and known of his eastern, 
thoiigb second rate streams, he will require no little 
discipline to accede to the popular language which 
magnifies every brook into a river, and every river 
into a majestic current. Should he see the Granta, 
or Cam, at Cambridge, or the Isis at Oxford, he 
would readily pronounce them romantic and pretty 
streamlets, but no more like to rivers than he to 
Hercules. I remembered one morning at Chelten- 
ham last autumn, returning with a companion from 
a walk to the Spas, and crossing hy a fairy little 



Jl 



EDir^BURGH TO DUBLIN. €5 

bridge, a gurgling, sporting rivulet scarcely two 
yards over, the beauty of which i had several times 
previously remarked, 1 mquired in a tone of unaf- 
fected doubt, if there were any name to that pretty 
brook ? ' Brook P replied the other, with a counte- 
nance of mingled surprise and concern, ' it is the 
river Chelt /' I looked hastily again, and almost ex- 
pected to see the indignant spirit of the stream, 
bending in misty semblance on the view, prepared 
to assert its honour, and avenge the affront.* 

But to return from this digression to the Liffey ; 
what this stream has wanted in natural advantages, 
has been supplied, as far as might be, by the hand 

* In the state of New Hampshire, there is a fine sheet 
of water, equal in size and little inferiour native beauty, 
to Loch Lomond, the queen of the Scottish lakes, which 
the honest residents around its borders have never thought 
of dignifying by any higher name than that of pond. It 
might be wished however that its distinguishing epithet, 
(Winipiseogee,) was a little softened and reduced, as well 
for the convenience of daily use, as the euphouy of lan- 
guage. 

In the same state also, there is a towering ridge of moun- 
tains, modestly termed the JVIiite-Hills ; each of whose peaks is 
double the height of either Ben Lomond or Helvellyn. There is 
still another mountain called by the Indians Moselote, which 
since the settlement of the whites has undergone a whimsical 
transformation into Moose-Hillock. Its altitude exceeds 5000 
feet; in other words, it is nearly 1000 feet higher than Ben 
Nevis, the tallest of the British mountains. This fact, stated 
without comment, is enough to induce a foreigner to conclude., 
that in America, in computing the magnitude of natural ob- 
jects, the people employ a Brobdignag mensuration, indeed. 

6*' 



66 EXCURSION FROM 

of man. Not only has great labour been expend- 
ed in improving its channel, and thereby facilitat- 
ing navigation, and not only has great taste been 
displayed in the quays along its sides, — there have 
also some noble bridges been erected over it, two 
or three of which are of elegant workmanship. 
One which is a single arch, is of cast iron. But 
the greatest work which we have yet seen here, 
and the most stupendous of its kind perhaps in the 
world, is the mole. The harbour of Dublin was 
formerly very much exposed to the south-easterly 
winds : and to remedy this, an immense wall, com- 
posed of huge masses of stone strongly rivetted and 
cemented, has been built into the open bay or sea, 
with incredible labour. This mole is nearly three 
miles in length, and is raised from four to six feet 
above high water. Its average breadth at the sur- 
face is thirty-five feet ; though it is somewhat less 
than this at the lower extremity, being there, if I 
mistake not, twenty-eight. A work of this kind is 
sufficient to illustrate the public spirit and perse- 
vering enterprize of the citizens of this great me- 
tropolis. The shipping at the mouth of the river 
makes a fine display : literally presenting a forest 
of masts. 

April 22d. — The difference between Irish and 
British coin, and the nominal value of the currency 
in the two countries gave me at first some embar* 
rassment. Thirteen pence Irish are equal to one 
shilling English, or twelve pence sterling. A pound 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 67 

sterling, (or twenty shillings) is of course equal to 
twenty-one shillings Irish. English shilhngs, six- 
pences and half crowns, with bank of England 
notes, rarely circulate in this country. The most 
common coins are bank of Ireland tokens of tive- 
penny, ten-penny and half-crown pieces. At Belfast 
where I had to take the change of a pretty large 
bank of England note, a handful of silver pieces 
was returned, not one of which I had before seen, 
except in museums, or the cabinets of the curious. 

The Irish women, at least those in Dublin, so far 
as I have had an opportunity of seeing, are far mfe- 
riour in beauty, particularly in freshness and ruddi- 
ness of complexion, to either the English or Scotch. 
Their figures are seldom good; and there is a disa- 
greeable coarseness in their features. Since landing 
at Donaghadee, I have hardly seen a pretty woman. 

Dublin exhibits a deplorable spectacle at night 
in the numbers of females abroad, who are aban- 
doned to infamy. They may seem more numerous 
to one who has just come from Scotland, and who 
has been accustomed to the orderly appearance at 
evening of the streets of the cities in that country. 
These women of the town commence their walks 
immediately after night-fall, and exhibit a most ob- 
trusive and unbl using effronterj^ 

Early this morning Sir Richard Musgrave called. 
He was out when I left a letter yesterday, but 
returned the call in the course of the day, and 
communicated also by note. At the present ia- 



m EXCURSION FROM 

terview, bis conversation was copious and entertain- 
ing. He descanted largely upon tlie growing power 
and wealth of my country, and spoke of its character 
in a strain of higher eulogium than I expected from 
one of the baronet's avowed political bias. Sir Rich- 
ard is a zealous loyalist ; and has uniformly and 
powerfully cooperated with ministers in repressing 
the spirit of disaffection in Ireland. During an 
eventful portion of that period of turbulence and 
terror which prevailed anterior to the union, he was 
a member of the Irish Parliament, and held also the 
office of high sheriff for the county of Waterford, in 
each of which situations he lent all his influence in 
strengthening the general government, in its endeav- 
ours to avert the evils which menaced the country. 
His ' memoirs of the rebellion of 1798' evince his 
own view of the causes and policy which preceded 
that terrible crisis, and the active interest which he 
took in the events which ensued. 

In the course of conversation this morning. Sir 
Richard early entered upon a favourite subject, the 
discussion of the Roman Catholic question, which 
still greatly agitates the kingdom. He shewed me 
the autograph of a written oath which he procured 
a day or two ago, taken by some catholics of the 
lower orders, binding them to use all means in their 
power to put down every thing like heresy, by 
which is meant a difference in profession and senti- 
ment from the Church of Rome. The tenour of the 
paper implied a readiness to resort to the sword or 



EDINBDRGH TO DUBLIN. 6S 

laggot for effecting their object so far as these san- 
guinary remedies should be found compatible with 
the safety of the individual who might employ them. 
The baronet adverted to an essay on the Roman 
catholic question, detailing some curious facts, which 
he recently published in the ' Hibernian Journal,' 
(with which paper he has long plied an active com- 
merce,) and in a walk which I afterwards took with 
him, he procured for me a copy of it at the printing 
office. Glancing my eye over it this evening 1 find 
ample evidence that the mitred representatives of 
the papal power in Ireland have thought themselves 
the mmisters of a church militant indeed. Not a few 
have fanned the flames of rebellion; and among 
them, no less than three actual or titular primates, 
seven bishops, and two vicars apostolic have, since 
the reign of Ehzabeth, either fallen in open arms, 
or been executed for treason. 

To day, among other objects, we have visited the 
Parliament house, a magnificent building of great 
size, now converted into the bank, and a number of 
public offices ; — the Custom house, which is no ways 
inferiour in size and splendour, and the finest which 
I have seen in any part of the empire : — and the 
Lying-in hospital where poor women are attended 
in child birth, and have every relief which their 
situation may require, or which can be afforded. 
This last is a most charitable institution, and reflects 
the highest credit upon the good feelings of the 
people in Dublin. We visited most of the wards, 



no EXCURSION FROM 

and were struck with the number of comforts pro- 
vided for the poor females who were fortunate 
enough to be made inmates of the institution. The 
building itself is rather a palace than a hospital, and 
opens behind into the beautiful walks and shrub- 
beries of Rutland square. The chapel is highly 
finished ; too much so indeed. Ornaments are pro- 
fusely lavished upon it, and do not comport with that 
grave and solemn character which we desire to at- 
tach to a place of religious worship. 

It is impossible to walk the streets of this city 
and repress a feeling of admiration on beholding the 
numerous costly structures which meet {he eye in 
every direction. In the expense and elegance of its 
public works, Dublin excels, I should think, every 
city of equal size in Europe. Some of these are 
too fine, I mfean, for Ireland. This is forcibly brought 
home by the many objects of a widely different des- 
cription which are continually presented to view : 
objects which painfully attest the unnatural condi- 
tion of things not simply in Dublin, but in the coun- 
try of which it is the capital,* Nor is the impres- 

* The author of these sketches has since visited some of the 
best cities of the continent ; no one of which, in his opinion, may 
disdain acompaiison with Dublin. Making a proper allowance 
for the disparity of numbeis and wealth, it yields not, he thinks, 
to the French metropolis. Similar objects, also to those which 
serve as foils to the better structures of Dublin, are every where 
seen in Paris. The dwellings of the poorer classes in the latter 
city exhibit little enough of the appearance of comfort. Of its 
streets too, excepting the Boulevards, there is not one whicjli cac 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 71 

3ion diminished by the location of these different 
buildingfs. The finest edifices of which DubHn 
boasts, are scattered over the city with Httle seem- 
ing attention to regularity or fitness of place. The 
contrast produced is often very disagreeable. It is 
not uncommon to see a small comfortless hovel 
adjoining some large and stately pile, and acting as a 
silent commentary upon that mixture of opulence 
and want, of splendour and meanness, of parade and 
wretchedness, which is too conspicuous in various 
other objects of daily observation. 

We dined to day with Mr. D******, the gentleman 
whom 1 have mentioned as having accompanied us 
from Dundalk to Dublin. The attentions of this 

compare with Dame, Westmoreland or Sackville streets, not to 
mention several others little inferior. Two of the best in Paris 
are the Rue du Richelieu, and the Rue St. Honore, and a visitor 
might be safely challenged to find in all Dublin one which offers 
the foot passenger such miserable accommodations as either of 
these. In the opinion also of the writer that native politeness 
which has been said to distinguish the lowest of the Parisian po- 
pulace has either been greatly exaggerated or was nearly ex- 
punged during the tragic scenes of the Revolution. If what 
the panegyrists of France asserted upon this point during the 
past century, and what lady Morgan has recently repeated, be 
true, the citizens of its boasted metropolis have at least evinc- 
ed how soon they could forget the rules of a petit maitre politesse, 
and be schooled in the syntax of a barbarous and blood-thirsty 
philosophy. From what actually fell under the author's observa- 
tion, he is pursuaded that the canaille of Paris have now the 
properties, as they have uniformly had the elements, of a char- 
acter more foul and savage than ever disgraced the mobs of Lon- 
don or of Dublin. 



n EXCURSION FROM 

gentleman to us, considering the circumstances under 
which our acquaintance was formed are characteristic 
of the frank and confiding hcspitahty peculiar to the 
Irish. It struck me as a goodrule when [ commenc- 
ed my travels, not to mention, unless some desirable 
opportunity should present, the country from which 
I came, especially in any of the pubhc vehicles. 
A foreigner is saved thereby no little extortion at the 
inns where he chances to stop, (a matter of some 
moment in such a country as this :) and he has an 
opportunity of gaining more satisfactory information 
in regard to the opinions entertained of his own na- 
tion than he could by openly declaring the land of 
his origin. Such information is seldom expected or 
desired. An American is not catechised concerning 
the place of his birth, nor need he fear that it will 
be detected, unless he so wishes. He will pass with- 
out question as an Englishman, or perhaps more 
properly as a Briton ; and should he mention his 
country, the first impression produced will be that 
of surprise. The principle adverted to, is to be un- 
derstood, however, as applicable merely to the tra- 
veller ; that is, to one actually moving from place 
to place, at which time too, he is supposed to be 
daily and even hourly changing his associates, pro- 
vided that he adopts the stage coach conveyance 
which on the greater routes, is always most eligible. 
In the instance of first meeting with the gentle- 
man at whose house we this day dined, this practice 
unexpectedly led to a slight embarrassment. Learn- 



ANTIQUITY OF THE UJSITED STATES. 7S 

and which have puzzled naturahsts so much, may be 
the remains of this class of men. The supposition 
at least is worthy of some investigation. The fol- 
lowing verses contain a brief account of the whole 
genealogy. 

But Guyon all this while his book did read, 

Ne yet has ended ; for it was a great 

And ample volume, that doth far exceed 

My leisure so long leaves here to repeats 

It told how first Prometheus did create 

A man of many parts from beasts deryv'd, 

And then stole fire from heven to animate 

His worke, for which he was by Jove depryv'd 

Of life himselfe, and heartstrings of an eagle ryv'cl. 

That man so made he called Elfe, to weet 

Quick, the first author of all Elfin kynd ; 

Who, wandering through the world witii wearie feet. 

Did in the gardens of Adonis fjnid 

A goodly creature, whom he deem'd in mind 

To be no earthly wight, but either spright 

Or angell, th' author of all woman kynd ; 

Therefore a Fay he her according hight, 

Of whom all Faeries spring, and fetch their lineage right. 

Of these a mighty people shortly grew, 
And puissant kinges which all the world warrayd 
And to themselves all nations did subdew. 
The first and eldest, which that sceptre sway'd, 
Was Elfin ; him all India obay'd, 
And all that now America men call : 
Next him was noble Elfinan, who laid 
Cleopolis foundation first of all, 
But Elfiline enclosM it with a golden wall. 
7 



74 MEMOIR ON THE 

His Sonne was Elfinell, who overcame 

The wicked Gobbelines ia bloody field ; 

But Elfant was of most renowned fame, 

Who all of christall did Panthea build : 

Then Elfar, who two brethren gyauntes kild, 

The one of which had two heades, th' other three ; 

Then Elfinor who was in magic skill'd ; 

He built by a.rt upon the glassy see 

A bridge of bras, whose sound heven's thunder seem'd to be. 

He left three sonnes, the which in order rayn'd, 
And all their offspring in their dew descents : 
Even seven hundred princes, which maintaynd 
With mighty deedes their sondry governments, 
That were too long their infinite contents 
Here to record, ne much materiall ; 
Yet should they be most famous moniraents. 
And brave ensample, both of martiall 
And civil rule to kings and states imperiall. 

After all these Elfideos did rayne. 
The wise Elfideos ! in great majestie 
Who mightily that sceptre did sustayne. 
And with rich spoyles and famous victorie 
Did high advaunce the crown of Faery. 
He left two sonnes of which fayre Elferon, 
The eldest brother, did untimely dye. 
Whose empty place the mighty Oberon 
Doubly supplide in spousall and dominion. 

Great was his power and glory over all. 

Which him before that sacred scale did fill. 

That yet remaines his wide memoriall. 

He dying, left the fairest Tanaquill 

Him to succeed therein by his last will ; 

Fairer and nobler liveth none this howre, 

Ne like in grace, ne like in learned skill ; 

Therefore they Glorian call that Glorious flowre ; 

Long mayst thou, Glorian I live, in glory and great powre. 



ANTIQUITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 75 

Beguyl'd thus with delight of novelties, 

And natuiall desire of countryes state. 

So long they redd in those antiquities, - 

That how the time was fled they quite forgate ; 

Till gentle Alma seeing it so late, 

Perforce their studies broke, and them besought 

To thinke how supper did them long awaite ; 

So half unwilling from their bookes them brought 

And fayrely feasted, as so noble knightes she ought. 

■ A writer in the Port Folio, for the month of March 
1815, seems to have had a ghmpse of this fine system 
and to have lost it untimely. A perusal of Plato 
had brought him on the true scent, but having unfor- 
tunately started a particular word, he has hunted it 
through all its doublings and windings, till he has lost 
the fine idea which was in full view. The Hebrew 
word Peleg caught his attention, and like a German 
University he has devoted his whole time to the in- 
vestigation of a single word, and is of course nearly 
as bare of ideas, as some thousand of folios produc- 
ed by German commentators. The following para- 
graph will shew how near he was to a brilliant dis- 
covery. " We think there is sufficient reason to be- 
lieve, that land once connected America to the old 
world, in place of which now roll the Atlantic and 
Pacific Oceans. Over this continuous land men and 
animals passed. This land, which, it is probable, 
was of very considerable extent, was all submerged, 
except in those parts of it which now appear as isl- 
ands in those seas." More regret will be felt that 
this deserving author should have been thus led 
Away, since ho discovers so much of that genuine 



76 MEMOIR ON THE 

modesty which accompanies real merit. There is 
something almost affecting in the timid manner with 
which he suggests, that the land which occupied the 
place of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans was, " it is 
probable of very considerable extent ^ 

One more authority only will be adduced for this 
branch of the subject, but that one will be conclusive. 
The learned Dr. Mitchill, {Centumvir olim) of New- 
York, who in seconding the opinion of Mr. Jeffer- 
son, Lafon and others, throws so much light on the 
subject as to place it beyond dispute. An abstract 
of his opinions, will be sufficient to carry conviction 
to every candid mind. 

" I avoided the opportunity which this grand con- 
clusion afforded me, of stating that America was the 
cradle of the human race ,• of tracing its colonies 
westward over the Pacific Ocean, and beyond the 
sea of Kamschatcka, to new settlements ; of follow- 
ing emigrants by land and by water, until they 
leached Europe and Africa ; and lastly, of following- 
adventurers from the former of these sections of the 
^lobe, to the plantations and abodes w^hich they found 
and occupied in America. I had no inclination to 
oppose the current opinions, relative to man's crea- 
tion and dispersion. I thought it was scarcely worth 
the while to inform an European, that on coming to 
America, he had left the neTsj word behind him, for 
the purpose of visiting the old. It ought neverthe- 
less to be remarked, that there are many important 
advantages derived to our reasoning from this pres- 
ent manner of considering the sxibject. The princi- 
ples being now established, they will be supported 



ANTIQUITY OF THfi UNITED STATES. 71 

hy a further induction of facts and occurrences, to 
an extent and amount that it is impossible, at this 
moment fairly to estimate. And the conclusions of 
Jefferson, Lafon, and others, favourable to the great- 
er antiquity of American population, will be duly re- 
inforced and confirmed."* 

That America was the oldest continent, and its in- 
habitants the most ancient people on the globe, is 
now fairly proved ; and if this supposition did not 
accord with reason at first sight, the weight of so 
many great names, as have been cited, will certainly 
be sufficient to induce every lover of truth to give 
the matter that careful investigation, which will be 
inevitably rewarded with conviction. This being es- 
tablished, the second point to be considered, is the 
antiquity of the United States ; and the extreme re- 
moteness of this could not be placed beyond a doubt, 
unless the ancient existence of the continent had been 
first demonstrated. 

Although this part of the subject is more obvious, 
it is not unaccompanied with difficulties to minds 
which reflect deeply. To those indeed, whose fri- 
volity and credulity make them receive implicitl3% 
the common cant of this being, " an infant nation, a 
youthful nation,-' &c. and who rely upon the most 
fallible and confused of all sciences, chronology, for 
their belief, it will be in vain to display a philosophi- 
cal argument ; but to more sound and robust intel- 
lects, the conclusions will appear inevitable. The 

* Dr. Mitchill's ?yllabus of a course of lectures in Natiirnl 
History, 

7 * • 



78 MEMOIR ON THE' 

most embarrassing difficulty is, that there are some 
reasons for carrying back this antiquity to a period 
60 remote, as to involve a considerable degree of 
contradiction with other known data. One only of 
these will be particularlj^ alluded to, and that is, the 
practice of chewing the narcotick plant, nicotiana, 
or tobacco. The learned Caledonian patrician, lord 
Monboddo, first shewed satisfactorily, that the human 
race is derived from a particular species of monkey, 
which once inhabited the shores of the Mediterrane- 
an ; and who having b}^ chance acquired the use of 
the muscle which moves the thumb, the paw of the 
animal was at once converted into the human hand ; 
and the prodigious advantages arising from this source, 
enabled them gradually to improve their moral and 
physical faculties, obliterate their tailsf, and become 
men. It is certain, that in the course of this trans- 
formation, they passed through the state of ruminat- 
ing animals ; but it is almost impossible, that this 
should not have taken place previous to acquiring 
the use of speech. Now our ruminating animals 
have the flicuUy of speech, and yet it seems cruel, 
and discordant, when the general benevolence of 
nature is considered, that possessing the highest fa- 
culties of men, they should still be subjected to this, 
in them, hideous, filthy, disgusting process of chew- 
ing the cud. This point may perhaps be elucidated 
hereafter by further researches. 

The mostinfxllible method of deciding on the real 
standing of a nation, is not the examination of a few 
meagre dates, but a comparison of its institutions, 
its monuments, its manners, with those of others. 



ANTIQUITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 79 

How many leading circumstances are there, thaf: 
place us on the exact parallel with the most ancient 
relations, and ev en conjectures of the primitive state 
of society. Philosophers have said, that before the 
formation of society, men roamed at large, indepen- 
dent of each other, that they gradually sacrificed 
a portion of their rights to obtain the security of go- 
vernment. Are we not at the first stages in this re- 
spect, and agreeing perfectly with the state of things 
in the earliest antiquit}^? the first beginnings of the 
arts were rude and imperfect, architecture, the most 
ancient of them all, was slow in its progress towards 
perfection. Are we not coeval with its first advan- 
ces ? do not our buildings plainly manifest, that they 
were erected when the principles of the art were 
yet unsettled ? do we not behold Dorick columns with 
Corinthian proportions, and all the incongruities that 
accompany the origin of an art ? The knowledge of 
figures was much posterior to that of letters, and 
though the use of the latter is generally known, the 
former is still in its infancy : men in a savage, prime- 
val state can make long speeches, and yet are not 
able to count ; for have we not lately seen a Conven- 
tion,* the majority of which was so deplorably igno- 
rant, that they could not tell what constituted five- 
ninths of a given number ! It would be tiresome to 
exhibit all the illustrations that present themselves. 
There is one monument among perhaps a thou- 
sand, that may be particularized. In the city of Lon- 
don, there is a stone placed against a wall, which is 
called London stone. It is supposed on solid 

* Brunswick Convention. 



80 MEMOIR ON THE 

grounds to be an ancient milliarium of the Ro- 
mans, and it is presumed that it was previously 
a sacred stone of the Druids ; there is therefore 
.a tolerably clear history of this monument. Now 
there is in Boston, a quadrangular stone, called 
the Boston stone, of which nothing is known, its 
origin is lost in the night of time. It is of the 
granitick class, which are admitted by geologists to 
be the most ancient, if this stone then, primitive in 
every sense, is so ancient that its history is lost, and 
the London stone, is traced for two or three thou- 
sand years, is it not probable that this is vastl}^ older, 
since nothing is known respecting it ? Would it not 
be harder than its own substance to deny this con- 
clusion ? The rock itself is primitive, every vestige 
of its origin is forgotten, it has therefore existed 
from the creation of the world. The clearness of 
ihis reasoning can only be equalled by the following 
passage from the celebrated archbishop Bradwar- 
dine* in Jhis admirable treatise in folio, de natura 
causarum, (page 863.) " Quis enim negaverit necesse 
esse hac necessitate sequente, deum facere quicquid im- 
mediate Jit ah ipso, sicut et hac necessitate omne quod 
est, quando est necesse est esse, et quod jit el factum est, 
fieri et factum esse, et deum velle sic esse.''"' 

* I have heard with great satisfaction from a friend who as- 
certained the fact, that the London folio edition of 1G16, of this 
too much neglected author's valuable writings, de causa Dei con- 
tra Pelagium et de natura causarum^ is in the Boston Athenceum. 
The young men who frequent that excellent institution will do 
well to stud)'- this volume, and they will regret that there is but 
one. 



ANTIQUITY OF THE UNITED STATES. 81 

If it were possible, that a doubt could remain on 
this subject, do not the existence of our learned soci- 
eties prove its absurdity. The Historical Society of 
Massachusetts has been formed more than twenty 
years, and has devoted itself constantly to collecting 
and investigating the antiquities of the country, 
on which it has published many volumes. Next 
came the Historical Society of jYew-York, which 
has been engaged for some years in the same pur- 
suits. Still the field was too vast for the labour- 
ers ; the American Antiquarian Society was estab- 
lished two years ago, and its location fixed at 
Worcester, because the road to New-York pas- 
ses through that town. Now may it not be asked 
with confidence,^ — if the profound archaiologists 
who compose that society, would have formed 
their association after so many similar ones already 
existed, if the objects of its research were not in- 
exhaustible, and this country the most ancient in the 
world ? 



MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE. 



From the North American Review, Januar)^, 1817. 



Sir, 

There are few books that have been more popu- 
lar than the celebrated " Miseries of Human Life," 
by Mr. Beresford, because it gave an opportunity to 
the wretched, to see the calamities they endured, 
minutely described ; a task which had never before 
been attempted, and which afforded them much 
solace. The efforts of succeeding philanthropists 
can only add to the catalogue, without ever making 
it complete. I enclose a slight tribute in this way, 
which will place two more on the list. 

A misery in winter. — Being present at a great ball 
— having no great passion for dancing — the lady you 
would wish most to dance with, being away — after 
careful reconnoitering, — making up your mind to wear 
out the tediousness of the evening and to lead a 
particular lady to supper, — anticipating from her 
vivacity and brilliancy, one pleasant hour — in the 
mean time, being requested to take a hand, in order 
to complete a party at whist — having a partner 
whose temper is not even proof against the vicissi- 



MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE. C3 

tudes of a game at cards — losing five points to a man 
whose income every hour is more than yours for a 
year — and who plays with such slow, hateful, inexo- 
rable prudence, that when you hasten away to re- 
trieve the fortune of the evening — you find the sup- 
per has already commenced, the places all full — and 
the lady you like most, fairly seated by the man you 
like least, in the whole assembly ! ! 

j3 misery in summer. — Making one of a party on the 
water — the finest month in the year being selected 
for the purpose — uncommon preparations having 
been made, the excursion is a matter of notoriety 
and almost of envy, among all your acquaintance — 
on the appointed day you set off, with the weather 
doubtful, and the doubt (not the weather) is cleared 
away, by its proving to blovv the hardest gale of wind 
and the coldest weather that had been experienced 
within the memory of man, at that season — after 
lying at anchor all day and catching only a few 

sculpins, you esteem yourself very 

fortunate, by the great exertions of an excellent 
crew, to get under shelter of some island to pass the 
night ; your male friends on shore, all laughing in 
their sleeve, and your female, trembling in their's ; 
being obliged to worry out the night on a chair 
without sleeping, and without a book to read, while 
a half dozen of your companions are snoring in the 
small cabin around you in such tones, that they would 
be sent to the rear of an army which was meditating 
a surprize, if the enemy lay within three miles ; 
next morning to be landed before sun-rise, cold, 



84 EPIGRAM. 

cramped, sleepy, full of sea qualms, and when has- 
tenkig home incog, at an hour when none but day- 
labourers should be stirring, to meet a person, who, 
from his weather-wise sagacity, had perfidiously pre- 
tended some inevitable, sudden engagement the day 
before, not to be of the party, out of whose-way you 
meant to have kept for a week at least, and who 
inquires with an insidious grin, " What kind of a 
Time have you had ?" 



EPIGRAM. 



Lines addressed to — , Esq. Court- 
Square, who complained of the disadvantage of weak 
eyes in the profession of the law. 

Weak eyes ?ae best, be ruled by me, 

To view the joyous omen right. 
Since able lawyers, all agree, 

Must often have the fee-hlest sight. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. «5 

i am fftf from objecting to theatric representations 
in themselves. They are often harmless, and some- 
times useful. The drama is confessedly an impor- 
tant engine ; and though it has been frequently 
prostituted to corrupt purposes, it has exerted, and 
is capable still of exerting a powerful and happy 
agency upon the character and manners of society ; 
in influencing public sentiments, deepening the feel- 
ing of patriotism, and even m enlivening the moral 
sense, by embodying examples of history, and lash- 
ing popular follies. This is not the place, however, 
to discuss the merits or abuses of the stage, and I 
perceive that I am proceeding too far. I will only 
therefore add, that no one, I conceive, can witness 
the performance of the better plays of the great 
English dramatists, by the more distinguished actors 
of the British stage, but with real benetit, as well as 
heartfelt interest ; and for mj'self I am free to say, 
that I have again and again beheld the various and 
delicate, but impassioned personations of Miss O'Neil ; 
have listened to the classic, digniiied, and lofty re- 
hearsals of John Kemble, and have viewed the thril- 
ling action, combined with the deep-toned pathos of 
Kean, with a satisfaction as 1 conceived, both ration- 
al and solid. 

Last evening I went to the Theatre Royal in this 
city ; expecting little, and was therefore not much 
disappointed. Dublin is too near to London, the 
vortex of superior talent, particularly in the scenick 
line, to retain long any celebrated dramatic perform- 



86 EXCURSION FROM 

er. The great play houses of Covent Garden and 
Drury Lane, are marts where theatric genius is 
in high demand ; and accordingly, Uke Aaron's rod, 
they swallow up the supporters of each minor estab- 
lishment, as soon as their pretensions and merits 
have recommended them to popular acceptance. In 
the metropolis of the empire, these buskin'd heroes 
are rewarded with better rations as well as pay : and 
while their vanity is also gratified by playing before 
the crowded audiences of Westminster, they have 
an opportunity, in the intervals of their campaigns, to 
visit the provincial boards, among which are com- 
prehended the theatres in the capitals of the two 
sister kingdoms. 

The citizens of Dublin complain, and with seem- 
ing reason, that though their stage has produced not 
a few great actors, they have uniformly witnessed 
the speedy operation of the causes suggested ; and 
instead of deriving any advantage from their fame, 
have found that they have only been brought forward 
to be speedily decoyed and impressed into the London 
service. But this grievance, if it may be so termed, 
acts with redoubled pressure upon the country estab- 
lishments. At Belfast, the theatre was pointed out 
to me where Miss O'Neil commenced her brilhant 
career, and it was remarked, that whenever any new 
performer of more than common talent appears there, 
the individual is immediately bought up by the 
managers of the Dublin boards. How much farther 
these complaints might be found to extend, by those 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 87 

who would search the records of still humbler estab- 
lishments, it is difficult to say. Certain it is, on the 
other hand, that madame Catalani, the heroine of the 
British opera, has not been contented with the suc- 
cess which she has acquired even in London ; but 
has repaired to the cities of the continent, to display 
her astonishing vocal powers, and gain fresh celebri- 
ty, before the delighted auditories of Paris, Berlin, 
and Vienna. 

The theatre of Dublin is large, commodious and 
elegant ; in each of these qualities greatly superior 
to that in Edinboro'. The play was ' Wild Oats', 
a comedy of little interest. Jones, of the Covent 
Garden train, played Rover very well. Mrs. Hod- 
son, in lady Mary Amaranth, performed tolerably ; 
nothing better. The entertainment was Blue Beard ; 
a clumsy, stupid pantomime. It brought to mind, 
however, a humorous incident which is reported to 
have occurred during the performance of this very 
piece, at a time when the Pitt administration was 
thought to be peculiarly unfriendly to the Irish. 
One of the duets was singing which terminates with 
the words, ' pit a pat.' When finished, some one 
from the gallery briskly cried out, — ' arrah, there, 
you're right, my honey : down with Pitt^ and up 
with Pat.^ 

Judging from what was witnessed last evening, 
the theatre in Dublin is not well attended, or at least 
at this season. The house was very thin ; and such 
company as occupied seats in the boxes came in at a 



S8 EXCURSION FROM 

late hour. A good band played in the orchestra. 
The tunes of ' God save the king,' and ' St. Patrick's 
day in the morning,' were introduced between the 
play and afterpiece, during which every person in 
the house stood, and the men remained uncovered. 
They are played regularly each night, and always 
form the interlude. In the theatres of England and 
Scotland, ' God save the king,' commences the per- 
formance. 

One of our friends, a member of the Dublin So- 
ciety of Arts, gave us, a day or two ago, tickets of 
admission to the Botanic garden, which belongs to 
that Institution, and this morning we availed our- 
selves of them'to visit it. It is distant from the city 
about two miles. On our walk there we crossed the 
Royal canal, and stopped to examine the locks : the 
construction of which is precisely similar to those in 
the Middlesex canal in Massachusetts. A boat was 
passing through them at the time. 

The Botanic garden contains between sixteen and 
seventeen Irish acres. It is laid out with care and 
taste ; but the plants in the open air are not suf^ 
ficiently old or large, to shade and diversify enough 
its walks and enclosures. In the centre of the gar- 
den there is a pond, and near it an artificial rocky 
eminence. There are eight green houses, which are 
spacious and convenient, and contain five thousand 
plants. Among them is the largest Norfolk Island 
pine in the United kingdom : a tree which is re- 
markable for attaining the greatest size of any 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 89 

known species. This, however, has not yet exceed- 
ed twenty feet. The tree has been introduced into 
Europe only within a few years. The varieties or 
kinds of geraniums in these conservatories are about 
sixty. The plants, I noticed, were not placed over 
the flues, as they generally are in American green 
houses, and as I have remarked in some of the Eng- 
lish. The gardener who conducted us round, said 
that he knew the latter method to be bad ; as it ex- 
posed the roots of the plants to be scorched or dried: 
and many, he added, were destroyed, through igno- 
rance of the pernicious tendency of the custom. 

There was some company in the garden during 
our visit. On pleasant days, it is usual for many 
friends of the proprietors to repair to it from the 
city. Their names are all registered in an album* 

Returning to town, we again called on Sir Charles 
Gieseke, at the Dublin society house, and were 
shown the Elgin marble casts. Three sets only 
were permitted to be taken from these marbles ; 
one of which the society purchased for £150 sterl- 
ing. The casts. Sir Charles assured us, are wonder- 
fully accurate, and they certainly have that appear- 
ance. They prove nevertheless, that the originals 
have been sadly injured and mutilated. The basso 
relievos are best preserved. Besides the casts of 
lord Elgin's marbles, we remarked two others, beau- 
tifully executed, of the Apollo Belvidere : the pro- 
portions and S3^mmetry of which, and the lightness 
and gracefulness of the drapery, could not be suf 



90 EXCURSIOX FROM 

ficiently admired. These copies prove to demoiir 
stration, the intimate acquaintance which the ancients 
had, with the anatomy of the human body. Sir 
Charles was very courteous and communicative ; and 
pointed our attention to those objects in the museum, 
which had escaped observation yesterday. 

We dined with a large and brilUant party at Sir 
Richard Musgrave's. The baronet had requested 
us to come to his house an hour earUer than that 
appointed for dinner, in order to show us some se- 
lect paintings, engravings, and maps which we had 
not previously seen. We accordingly went. He 
was expecting us, and immediately on our entering 
the drawing-room, a table was spread with a choice 
collection of these valuables. Among them was a 
"ponderous double-folio volume, containing some 
excellent engravings of Italian scenes, most of which 
Sir Richard has personally visited, and accordingly 
recognized the copies with peculiar interest. He 
has a remarkably active and retentive memory ; and 
related a variety of anecdotes illustrative of his 
observations with great point and humour. 

Among the guests at the table, were admiral sir 

James F , and several other gallant naval and 

military officers. Much was said in commendation 
of the American prowess upon the ocean ; and the 
remarks which were made concerning our triumphs, 
evinced a liberality of feeling, and a candour of opi- 
nion, combined with an accuracy of intelligence, 
which I honestly confess I did not altogether expect 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 91 

Captain H particularly, an officer of great 

merit, and who has signahzed himself in more than 
one naval conflict, though filled with a just pride for 
the successes of the British fleets, did not hesitate 
to ascribe to our inftint navy, a share of glory as high 
at least as is ordinarily assigned it even in America. 
He observed to me, that at the commencement of 
the last war between Great Britain and the United 
States, he believed most iirmly, that in every coming 
action in which an English vessel should be engaged 
with an American, unless the force should far pre- 
ponderate in favour of the latter, the former would 
prove victorious. His astonishment at the result of 
the first few trials was great, he readily confessed. 
Nor had he been able to divest himself of it ; for al- 
though in point of physical force, and weight of me- 
tal, the balance was in some instances decidedly on 
the side of the United States' ships ; yet the English 
w^ere supposed to have attained such skill and habi- 
tude in their long and arduous struggle for the sove- 
reignty of the seas, as seemingly to make sufficient 
amends for any deficiency in the other respect. 
Much credit was also given to our armies, particu- 
larly for the successes which they gained in the last 
campaign. It was observed, that the Enghsh had 
uniformly found the Americans apt pupils, at least, in 
the science of war ; and by far too much so, there 
was reason to apprehend, for their future glory, and 
the uninterrupted continuance of their prosperity. 
A toast which Sir Richard proposed, and which was 



92' EXCURSION FROM 

promptly drank by the company, g-ave me great 
pleasure ; it was ' Perpetuity to the friendly relations 
at present subsisting between Great Britain and the 
United States.' 

April 26. — The morning was occupied by a visit 
to the Four Courts, a magnificent building so called, 
situated on a broad quay to the south of the Liiiey. 
It contains the halls of justice, and considering its 
cost and stateliness, may be safely pronounced a struc- 
ture well worthy of the genius to which it is dedicat- 
ed. To detail its proportions, arrangements, and 
ornaments, would be at best a useless employment. 
Others bare attempted it already, and theirs be the 
credit, so far as they have succeeded. A descrip- 
tion of any large public building, is in most cases 
very unsatisfactory. Even if the visitor is happy, 
as he may think, in his attempted communication, it 
is a probable chance that his reader may be utterly 
unable to follow him ; and what may be perspicuity 
and distinctness to him, may be a mass of confusion 
to the other. The truth is, that the latter cannot 
place himself in any of those points of view, which 
the former is throughout supposing him to occupy. 
There is nothing palpable or definite therefore on 
which he may fix ; and a simple statement of the 
cost of a building, and of its general efiect upon the 
eye, is in most cases, it is conceived, much more 
satisfactory, than an elaborate description of its re- 
spective parts, although to each there should be an- 
nexed anv one of that choice cluster of hi^h sound- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLm. S3 

ing epithets — Fine, striking, stately, noble, grand, 
elegant, splendid, magniticent or superb. I merely 
therefore add, that this edifice of the Four Courts is 
justly regarded a chef-d'oeuvre. It was erected 
thirty years ago, at an expense of more than ninety 
thousand pounds sterling ; and was viewed by us 
this morning, as by multitudes before us, with min- 
gled feelings of admiration and delight. 

We looked into the courts of chancery, exche- 
quer, and king's bench, and heard some speaking, 
but none of it was remarkable. The Irish bar sus- 
tains an high character for acuteness, talent and eru- 
dition ; and they who judge of it from the gaudy 
verbiage and sickening rhapsodies of Phillips, know 
little of its dignity and excellence. Within the last 
forty years, it has produced not a few profound ju- 
rists ; and at present can point to several, who, for 
depth of learning, and skill in argument, would chal- 
lenge no second place in Westminster hall. The 
name of Ponsonby is enough to prove what it has 
been ; and that of Bushe, to attest what it is. 
The former of these, after eminently distinguishing 
himself as an advocate, and filling with great 
eclat the office of lord chancellor of Ireland, has ac- 
cepted a seat in the house of commons, and is among 
the conspicuous leaders of parliamentary debate. 
Though chief in the opposition, it is his singular for- 
tune to enjoy the confidence of all parties ; and 
there is no one whose opinions are uniformly listen- 



94 EXCURSION FROM 

ed to by ministers themselves, with higher attention 
and respect than are those ol Mr. Ponsonby.* 

Mr. Bushe, who for a number of years has held 
the office of Solicitor General for this kingdom, is 
now considered at the head of the Irish bar. In the 
solid qualifications of an advocate, indeed, Mr. Plun- 
ket is thought by many to equal him ; but as a speak- 
er, wants much of his eloquence. Mr. Bushe is re- 
puted to be always happy in the statement of his 
argument ; and to appeal with wonderful effect, as 
well to the passions as to the reason of his hearers. 
A speech which he made in chancery some weeks 
ago, is one of many which we find still fresh in the 
applauses of every one. What is worthy of remark, 
though this gentleman has passed the meridian of 
his days, he is regarded as still rising to the zenith 
of his reputation, and as giving promise to continue 
for a lengthened period, ' lord of the ascendant.' 

* Three months after the date of the above, the writer was 
■present in the gallery of the British House of Commons, dur- 
ing a debate in which Mr. Ponsonby took a very active part. 
It was protracted till about 2 o'clock in the morning, and as 
it did not possess much general interest, most of the members 
had retired, not more than fifteen or twenty being left on 
either side. Mr. P. had spoken several times ; but on rising 
once more to address the house, he was seized with an apo- 
, plexy and fell. He was removed into the lobby behind the 
speaker's chair ; and after medical aid had been rendered, 
and some signs of returning consciousness appeared, he was 
with difi&culty conveyed hom.e. He survived but three or four 
days, and died amidst the heartfelt regrets of the whole na- 
tion. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 9$ 

Among the younger barristers, North is very pro- 
mising, and has already obtained an high character. 
Curran retired some years since, and is now* at a 
watering place in England. It is lamentable to hear 
confirmed, what popular report has too strongly as- 
serted to be discredited, that this man, whose talents 
have certainly shed lustre upon the Irish Bar, is at 
present abandoned to habits of gross dissipation. He 
is described as a profligate in morals, and is contemn- 
ed and shunned by his former reputable acquain- 
tances, and indeed by all the better part of society. 

Phillips, his humble admirer, holds quite a subor- 
dinate rank as a lawyer, and has a limited practice. 
It is common here to speak very lightly of him ; 
although candid persons pronounce him clever and 
capable, notwithstanding his affectation and rant. 

Counsellor P is one of that class of lawyers, 

found at the bar of every country, who gladly seize 
upon popular causes, (such as all criminal trials,) for 
the want of better employment, and the sake, it may 
be, of making a display. His taste too, leads him 
occasionally to declaim to the city or county popu- 
lace ; and empty as are his harrangues, it is not sur- 
prising that they should avail, with those who mis- 
take noise for eloquence ; or that the mobs of Dub- 
lin should be willing to be entertained with the same 
cameleon food which has so often exhilarated the 
' cits of London, and the boors of Middlesex. They 
who know not whither he would lead them, resolve 

* 1317. 



96 EXCURSION FROM 

to follow him ; and those who cannot find his mean- 
ing, hope he means rebellion.' 

While walking in the anti-room of the Four 
Courts, a friend pointed out to us the person of this 

singular man. F has a tall and light figure, thin 

visage, dark complexion and hair, a sharp, black 
eye ; and a supercilious air and manner. 

As we were bearers of letters to the Solicitor- 
general, it gave us much concern on our arrival 
here, to learn that he was absent from home on a 
circuit. He returned to town, however, a day or 
two ago, and immediately called with a most oblig- 
ing tender of his services, to conduct us in the in- 
tervals of his official duties, to any objects of inter- 
est in this city, which might hitherto have been 
overlooked, independently of such as are more di- 
rectly in the way of his profession. During a call 
which he repeated to day, we were struck with the 
variety and elegance of his conversation, and court- 
liness of his address, united as they are, with a frank- 
ness and suavity of manners, the most conciliatory 
and engaging. The Solicitor-general was one of the 
members of the Irish parliament ; and his cool, and 
powerful oratory, eminently fitted him for that sea- 
son of stormy discussion, during which his senatorial 
talents were exercised. He has occasionally also 
communicated with the public through the medium 
of different journals, and his writings are ever mark- 
ed with an easy elegance of stjie, and a vein of 
chastened, but pungent humour. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 97 

In the course of the dav, captains M , and 

H of the Royal navy called, and proposed a 

walk to the castle, to show us more particularly its 
buildings, and especially the chapel, a beautiful 
specimen of light Gothic, said to be the finest in 
the country. Some carvings and gildings in the lat- 
ter, are rich beyond expression, and the windov/s 
over the altar piece are painted with great taste. 
The throne of the lord lieutenant, which is on the 
left of the pulpit, is sumptuously decorated. It is 
erected in the gallery, and is elevated above the 
other seats on the same side. A canopy of crimson 
cloth, embroidered with gold, overhangs it. The 
arms of various noble families, entirely, .' beheve, 
of those who have enjoyed the vice-regal office, 
with their names, are affixed to the front panels of 
the gallery. The effect is better than might be 
supposed. 

Having last come from a country which has pro- 
duced a number of highly ingenious female writers, 
whose distinguished endowments of mind, and vari- 
ous intellectual exertions, have produced the hap- 
piest influence upon the manners of its celebrated 
metropolis, it was natural to inquire how far the 
spirit of emulation, combined with the examples of 
Mrs. Sheridan, Mrs. Tighe, and Miss Edgeworth 
might have introduced into this city a similar pas- 
sion for letters, and by giving it currency, have 
exalted, as well as refined the character of its so- 
ciety. Ireland, within the last fifty years, has pro- 

9 



98 EXCURSION FROM 

duced her full proportion of literary women ; and 
even the voluptuous Lady Morgan, notwithstanding 
her extravagant fancy, licentious taste, and vitiated 
sensibility, is an evidence of the genial virtue of a 
clime, which could impart a mind of such glowing 
ardours, and an imagination of such vigorous and 
fertile invention. 

It was our fortune to ceme addressed to a lady in 
this city, distinguished for mental accomplishments, 
and the refinements of lettered taste. Her house is 
frequented by the learned and polite ; and there the 
stranger may often meet with a coterie of literary 
fashionables, assembled for the purpose of easy and 
improving intercourse, enlivened by the elegancies 
of a courteous hospitality. A select party of the 
friends of this lady we had the pleasure of meeting 
at her dining-table to day ; among whom, were 
several other very pleasing ladies, and two or three 
of the University Fellows. Conversation was as it 
should be, discursive and unaffected, but polished 
and instructive, ^i'he magic of its charms seemed 
to accelerate the passing minutes ; and the evening, 
in the drawing-room, was protracted to a late hour. 
In the latter, I remarked what I have elsewhere 
seen in this city, a table spread with the recent 
publications ; several beautiful editions of standard 
English works ; together with paintings, prints, and 
maps, remarkable for correctness and finish. This 
rational appendage of a drawing-room, is almost 
universal in the better houses of Edinburgh, and so 



EDmBURGH TO DUBLm. 99 

far as it is met with in Dublin, is a badge of hon- 
ourable fraternity between the citizens of the two 
capitals. The inference which it authorizes in re- 
gard to the state of society here, is highly favoura- 
ble. 

From the hasty observations, however, which I 
have yet been able to make of this city as compared 
with Edinburgh, the opinion has been confirmed, 
that the latter decidedly surpasses it in the business 
and parade of letters. They are more a trade 
there, and from the absence of extrinsic objects, 
are rendered important articles of exchange and 
traffic. In Dublin, on the other hand, owing to its 
maritime situation, and other inducements to money- 
ed gains, these commodities of mind are less sought 
after and prized. The inhabitants are naturally 
more employed in pursuits directly subservient to 
the maintenance of life ; whilst those of the Scot- 
tish capital, being in most cases possessed of an 
easy mediocrity of fortune, and freed from that rest- 
less desire to augment it inseparable from daily 
witnessing the stir of mercantile engagement, are 
more inclined to contemplative habits, and resort to 
books, and occupations purely mental, both for the 
pleasure and benefits of the exercise. Hence that 
character for intellectual superiorit}^, which Edin- 
burgh has obtained ; — a character which entitles it 
to the appellation of the Stoa^ or Porch, not only of 
Great Britain, but of Europe. A lady, there, feels 
it to be no disparagement to be familiar with any 



wo EXCURSION FROM 

liberal study. Philosophy is no sealed book to her, 
and she may range through each department of ab- 
struse and exact science, fearless of the charges of 
affectation or pedantry. Such a result marks a ra- 
dical and happy change in the condition of civil 
society ; a change, too, which is beginning widely to 
operate. The female character is obtaining a de- 
gree of respect, which it has never before properly 
enjoyed ; whatever may be thought of its ascenden- 
cy in the dissolute courts of Charles II, and Louis 
XV. Happily, in the republic of letters, the ave- 
nues of preferment are open to all. No salic law 
there prevails ; and the fair candidate for literary 
eminence, by a vigorous application of the energies 
of an accomplished mind, may successfully challenge 
the Drst honours in its gift. 

Sunday April 27. — We called this morning by invi- 
tation on major Sirr, and were gratified with viewing 
his collection of paintings. This gentleman has about 
an hundred in the whole ; the best of which, are 
contamed in a single apartment of considerable size, 
constructed for tlie purpose, and well lighted from 
above. The paintings possess great merit ; much 
more than we expected to find in any private collec- 
tion in Dublin. They are the works of many emi- 
nent artists, particularly of the Flemish and Italian 
schools. Major Sirr is Chairman of the committee 
of Fine Arts, to the Dublin society ; and at the same 
time, holds an office which seems incompatible with 
the pursuits of taste,— that of chief director of the 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. lOi 

city police. It is owing to the indefatigable exer- 
tions of this patriotic individual, that the turbulent 
populace of Dublin are kept in a state of tranquilli- 
ty, which would reflect credit upon the most peace- 
able and well disposed people. 

Major Sirr was actively and effectively engaged 
in behalf of goverment, in the great rebellion of 
1798 ; at the head of which, was lord Edward Fitz- 
gerald, son of the duke of Leinster. This gentleman 
gained intelligence of a daring conspiracy being in 
agitation, just as it was on the point of exploding ; 
and understanding one night that the insurgent 
nobleman was to lodge in a certain house in the city, 
he entered it with a small armed force, and suc- 
ceeded, after a short struggle, in seizing him.* 
This achievement contributed in no inconsiderable 
degree, to an effectual and speedier termination of 
the evils which were then impending over Ireland. 
For on the seizure of their chief, and the disclosure 

* It may be remembered, that towards the close of the ses- 
sion of the British parliament, which ended in July 1819 a 
motion was made and carried to reverse the bill of attainder 
which had passed upon the famil}' of lord Ed. Fitzgerald, in 
consequence of his treason. It was advocated both by minis- 
ters and oppositionists; and evinced not only a conciliatory 
spirit but a desire to expunge the recollection of the unhappy 
events which introduc d and followed upon the rebellion. A 
son of lord Fitzgesf.d was an officer in the army of tiio 
duke of Wellington : and His Grace, when the motion was 
under consideration by the lords, bore the most honourable 
Testimony to his merits. 

9 * 



i02 EXCURSION FROiM 

of the treasonable plans on foot, the measures of the 
insurgent part}'- were precipitated ; and contending 
as they were obliged to do, without any leading or 
decisive character for their head, they were reduc- 
ed, after a short though sanguinary contest, to their 
allegiance by the strong arm of government. This 
rebelUon, it is computed, cost Ireland the lives of 
100,000 of its subjects, of whom, 70,000 were Ro- 
man CathoUcs. Addresses, and other flattering ac- 
knowledgments of obligation w^ere presented to 
major S. for his intrepid conduct in the affair refer- 
red to, as also in others which occurred during the 
rebellion. Several of these we saw, during a call 
which we had previously made. 

At the time of service we repaired to the castle 
chapel. The house was full at an early hour. The 
lord and lady lieutenant were present on the throne. 
They descended without state to the chapel by a 
private passage leading from that part of the castle 
which is appropriated to the town residence of the 
viceroy and family. The celebrated Dr. Magee 
preached, a divine of great popularity ; who is 
listened to with deep interest, whenever he visits 
Dublin. Dr. Magee delivered one of the best prac- 
tical discourses, which I remember ever to have 
heard ; and I wished that it might be my happiness 
to listen to him more than once. This gentleman, 
formerly a professor in Trinity College, is now 
settled on a distant deanery, (that of Cork, I believe.*) 

* Dr. M. has since obt?iined a prelacy, and been transfersBd 
to the episcopal halls of Raphoe. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 103 

Ills work on the ' Atonement,' whatever may be 
thought of its premises and tenets by dissentient 
christians, is universally acknowledged to be a pro- 
duction of great ability, and as marking a mind of 
rare vigour and research.* The appearance of this 
excellent divine, is prepossessing and venerable. 
He seems turned of sixty-five ; is erect in his person, 
though not above the middle size ; and has a hale 
and rather florid complexion. His manner of 
preaching is simple and unaffected, but energetic and 
impressive. 

The Rev. John Jebb, rector of Abingdon, in the 
diocess of Cashel, is at present thought to be the 
most popular clergyman in this part of Ireland. 
Not long since, he published a volume of sermons 
which gained him great celebrity here, although 
they are hardly known on the other side of the 
channel. They are characterized by that glowing 
eloquence peculiar to the Irish, a too great fondness 
for which, indeed, occasionally hurries him into a 
vehemence of expression, bordering not a little upon 
the declamatory. 

Unitarianism, by which I mean anti-trinitarianism 
in general, seems to be gaining a footing among the 

*' The Hon. Mr. Bushe subsequently mentioned to the writer 
of these notices, that in a conversation which he once had with 
the present archbishop of Canterbury, that primate pronounced 
Dr. Magee's work on the Atonement, to be the ablest which had 
been added to the mass of English Theology, within the last half 
century. 



104 EXCURSION FROM 

clergy around the Carrickfergus. But in general, 
it meets with very httle encouragement in Ireland. 
In this city, there are two societies ; and they are 
each respectable for numbers. I heir pastors are 
of the Arian denomination, and are esteemed for 
worth and piety. Jews are numerous every where 
but in Ireland. They have no synagogue in Dublin, 
nor in any other part of the country ; and possess 
only a cemetery which is at Ballybough-bridge. 

April 28. — The provost of the university, (Rev. 
Dr. Elrington,) had politely made an appointment to 
show us this morning, the interior of that noble 
institution, and requested our company at a classic 
breakfast. After an agreeable dejeune which proved 
something more than a mere ' feast of reason,' the 
gentleman and his son, Mr. E. a junior fellow in 
Trinity college, drew on their academic robes, and 
accompanied us to the university buildings. The 
house of the provost is included within the college 
precincts, and separated only by a court, from the 
first quadrangle. It is a massive building, resembling 
more a palace, than a private dwelling, constructed 
of free-stone, and presenting in front, a range of doric 
pilasters, supported by an under story of fretted, 
rustic work. The interior is finely finished, and 
corresponds to the dignity of its outward appearance. 

The college buildings are about thirty-five in 
number : forming two main quadrangles, besides a 
smaller one. The front towards the College-green, 
(a circular area so called, formed by the termination 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 105 

~of Dame, and other streets,) extends three hundred 
feet, and is of the Corinthian order. In the theatre, 
which is erected opposite to the chapel, and appro- 
priated to lectures and exhibitions, we were shown 
a piece of Irish statuary, which would have done 
honour to the chisel of Praxiteles. It is a monument 
commemorative of provost Baldwin, and representing 
the figure of learning, bending in tears over his 
recumbent body ; the whole sculptured from a single 
block. The hall of exhibition, is 80 feet long, and 
about 40 in breadth and height. It is ornamented 
by some portraits of benefactors, and eminent alumni 
of the college. The library is large, and the books 
are arranged in the best manner for display. Their 
number, including MSS. is between eighty and ninety 
thousand. The library is rich in these last, the 
MSS. of the great archbishop Usher forming a part. 
Some of them are elegantly adorned with illuminatied 
characters, and other quaint devices of monkish times. 
I remarked in the collection, a copy in fine preser- 
vation of the old Italic Bible, — the version which 
preceded the vulgate of Jerome, — and also, the well- 
known Codex Monfortianus. 

But the provost directed our attention particularly 
to one which is highly valuable, as well as curious, 
and which came into the possession of the college, 
by a singular fortune. An old manuscript, filled, 
merely as it was thought, with some idle legends or 
commentaries of a barbarous age, had long been in 
the library, and had lain neglected amidst a heap of 



1«6 EXCURSION FROM 

learned rubbish. By a strange accident, however, 
there was discovered under this writing, another 
work ; the letters of which traversed those of the 
former, and though nearly obliterated, were, in most 
places, faintly perceptible on a near view. It 
proved to be a Greek MS. of the gospel of Matthew, 
and is evidently of great antiquity. It is written 
with uncial letters, without points of accent, and 
other denoting marks of a modern age ; and the 
characters are blended in lines without any distinc- 
tion of words or sentences. The latter, precisely 
resemble in form and size, those of the Codex 
Bezae, which I saw at Cambridge in England, and 
of the Alexandrine fac similes, which I have repeat- 
edly met with. The librarian, who possesses a sin- 
gular pains-taking genius, undertook to decypher the 
MS., and has succeeded very well. He was obliged 
often to hold the vellum to the light of a window, 
and sometimes to measure the space left, where a 
limb of a letter was wanting, in order to determine 
what to supply. If a whole character was oblite- 
rated, or still more, if a word was, the space was 
left naked ; and no attempt was made to fill it with 
conjectural readings. Much benefit to the cause of 
sacred criticism was anticipated, from the discovery 
of this MS. nor has the hope, I believe, been disap- 
pointed. I was surprised to find the substratum 
writing so legible, as a close inspection discovered 
it; but could easily conceive of its being overlooked 
and neglected, if attention had not been called to it 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. lOT 

by accident. The MS. has been classed, and i? 
denominated XYZ.* We saw also, in the library, a 
Latin translation of Petrarch, which was one of the 
earliest specimens of printing-, and proves how little, 
comparatively, we have improved this art. The 
ink is good ; and the letters, making allowance for 
a little clumsiness in their appearance, are very neat. 
In the museum, several remarkable curiosities 
were shown. One was an ancient harp ; the self-same, 
it is said, which was possessed by ' Brian the brave,' 
the renowned chieftain, whose ' glories' Moore has 
sung", and bade us ' remember.' The provost assur- 
ed us that it could be traced back, and be identified 
as his, by a chain of convincing evidence. The 
frame is fantastically carved, and was formerly en- 
riched with ornaments of value. These, however, 
were purloined a long while ago, when the harp was 
sent with the regalia of the Irish princes to the Pope 
at Rome ; at least, so says the legend. — Credat Jud(eus. 
— The museum possesses also, many antique utensils, 
and pieces of armour, which have been found at dif- 
ferent times, in various parts of the country, under 
bogs, fens, and mosses. But our attention was par- 
ticularly called to two swords, of singular make and 
temper. The metal is mixed, and proved to be the 

* The provost subsequently showed the writer a printed fac- 
simile of this MS. which was very beautiful, as well as accu- 
rate ; and executed at the expense of the college. He has seen 
some other copies from the same impresb.ion, in dift'erent public 
libraries, one of which is in that of Harvard university, under 
the title of Codex Rescriptus. 



lot EXCURSION FROM 

same composition with that of the Carthaginian 
swords, which have been dug np from the plains of 
Cannae. The implements themselves, are precisely 
similar in shape : and swords of this kind» are known 
to have been made and used only by Carthaginians. 
These weapons, antiquarians have seized upon to 
confirm an opinion, that a connexion and friendly in- 
tercourse were maintained between Ireland and 
Carthage, during the prosperity of that republic. 

The anatomical museum contains a large number 
of preparations, illustrative of the physiology of the 
human frame. Many of them are horribly natural. 
In the collection, there are several full length wax 
figures of females, exhibiting their distinctive anato- 
my, and representing them in every stage of gesta- 
tion. Among other mirabilia, we beheld the skele- 
ton of a man who died of ossification. This is said 
to have been occasioned by his habits of life. He 
was addicted to inebriety, and being poor, was some- 
times obliged to pass his nights upon the bare 
ground. This produced various arthritic obstruct- 
tions, which terminated in the manner mentioned. 
The skeleton of the famous ' Irish giant' was an- 
other object. His height was eight feet and an half: 
and the present stature of his skeleton is wonder- 
fully tall ; although, of course, materially reduced 
from the size of the living body. Animal calculi, 
both stones and gravel, were also seen ; some of a 
comparatively enormous size. Two or three of the 
former, measured seven or eight inches in circum- 
ference. • 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. l6i» 

The university kitchen, with the whole culinary 
apparatus, is well deserving attention. Cooking is 
performed entirely by the agency of steam, the spits 
are turned by its operation, and the meat and vege- 
tables are boiled, or rather vapoured in it. From 
the place of the steam engine, flues are cnrried un- 
der the floors of the college chapel, and grated 
openings made at proper intervals through the pav- 
ed aisles; by which means, the room above is easily 
and effectually warmed. Adjoining to the university, 
are extensive parks and gardens, laid out m walks, 
for the exercise and recreation of the officers and 
students. 

The buildings appropriated to residents, resemble 
Nassau hall at Princeton, and the front view of the 
Union colleges at Schenectady. The rooms are 
constructed on a similar principle with those of Hol- 
worthy hall, at Cambridge, Massachusetls; at least, 
those which we saw, and they seemed to be a speci- 
men of all. The whole number of students in 
Trinity college, is between one thousand and eleven 
hundred : of these, notwithstanding the great 
number of college buildings, only about three 
hundred can be lodged within the wails. The others 
occupy apartments where they think best, in differ- 
ent parts of the city. There is a service of prayer 
in the chapel, three times a day. The students can- 
not all be accommodated in it at once, but they ob- 
serve some order, by which they are each present 
during one of the seasons. At a certain hour each 

10 



110 EXCURSION FROM 

night — nine, I believe, — the college gates are closed, 
and the students are obliged, under penalty of a fine, 
to report themselves before 12 o'clock to the young- 
est fellow, who is called dean. To prevent their 
entering or escaping from the rooms at unseasonable 
hours, the lower windows are secured by iron bars, 
in the same way as prisons and bridewells. 

The funds of the college are invested in real es- 
tate, chiefly lands, which yield annually, about 16 or 
J217000 sterling. Three large additional buildings of 
free stone, for the occupancy of the students, have 
lately been erected ; which cost £35000 ; a disburse- 
ment which has considerably embarrassed the college, 
and suspended two or three other projected works. 

Having inspected every thing of interest connect- 
ed with the university, we took leave of our very 
obliging conductors about 12 o'clock, and returned 
to the Commercial Buildings. The remainder of 
the morning was occupied with engagements on 
H****'s account, who leaves Dublin this evening, 
in the packet for Holyhead. This valued friend has 
continued with me longer than I had reason to hope 
on leaving Edinburgh ; but the pleasure which I 
have had in the lengthened intercourse, only adds 
to the regret which I experience in the present se- 
paration. The hours which I have passed in his 
jsociety, have left with me many recollections which 
can never be obliterated, and which will ever be 
^ilear to feeling. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. Ill 

Navis, quae tibi creditum 

Debes Amicum^ finibus Anglicis 

Reddas incolumenij piecor, 

Et serves animae dimidiuin mcae. 

April ^'d. — There is a paio which attends the sep- 
arating- from a fellow countryman in a foreign land, 
which, though at times modified and reduced by 
connecting circumstances, can never weigh lightly on 
a bosom of common sensibility. Simply an identity 
in the land of their birth, however remote therein 
may be the places of their abode from each other, 
is sufficient at a distance to attach individuals in ties 
of close fellowship, who else, if mutually brought 
into the society of each other, would be contented 
with a cold and formal intercourse. A disunion 
moreover of such a connection would be followed 
by regrets, w^hich it would be difficult to subdue, 
however they might be disguised ; but where, as is 
sometimes the case, separation takes place from a 
companion united to another, not conventionally, but 
by the intimacies of a tried and lengthened regard, 
the aching heart bears testimony to the void which 
is produced, and experiences a sensation of loneli- 
ness, which it can neither repress nor define. 

Such was the state of feeling with which I yester- 
day bade adieu to H * * * *. Returning from Daw- 
son street where we had parted, I retraced my steps 
to my lodgings, in a mood which was any thing but 
cheerful. Though surrounded as I was aware, by 
friends, new indeed, but who testified every desire 



112 EXCURSION FROM 

to contribute to my enjoyment, I could not divest 
myself of a sense of solitariness. I experienced in 
fine, the maladie du pays in its full force, and thought 
that I could then rightly appreciate the feehngs of 
one whose doom it may be to wear out his days in a 
distant land, in involuntaiy exile. There was some- 
thing in the state of the atmosphere around, which 
rather served to augment, than to allay the gloom 
which oppressed me. It wanted an elasticity ; and 
there was a density in it, such as is common in the 
evenings of a New England November, and which, 
in the present instance added to the indistinctness of 
twilight, and gave to each passing countenance, an 
expression which conveyed the belief, that it was 
the index of feelings diiferent perhaps in kind, but 
no ways inferior in intensity to those which I was 
experiencing. 

I know not whether expositors are agreed in the 
nature of that ^ evil spirit,' which is related to have 
afflicted Saul, and which was happily charmed away by 
the minstrelsy of David. Be the opinion what it may* 
it is not improbable, I conceive, that a person, from 
causes of which he is wholly guiltless, may labour 
at times under a morbid temperament not unhke in 
its effects^ that which was experienced by the royal 
sufferer, and which may yield to the kindly influ- 
ence of a similar remedy. At any rate, I was re- 
solved to make trial of the application, and on my 
return, recollecting to have heard that the race of 
the ancient Irish harpers was not wholly extinct, and 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 113 

that one or two were still to be met with in the 
city, I despatched a servant immediately oa the 
search. An hour or more had elapsed, and I was 
beginning to despair of his success, when a noise 
upon the staircase, and subsequently along the passage 
leading to my apartments, induced me to apprehend, 
that the ' bards of an hundred harps' were approach- 
ing, and that no less than the court of Brien, with 
the chieftain's ghostly self were coming on the ' rust- 
ling blast,' to regale upon the song of former years, 
and Usten to the voice of their praise. The door 
was opened, and two men entered bearing a harp, 
the form and size of which showed plainly enough 
that it was of no Irish origin, and had never sound- 
ed in the halls of Tara, however it might in those of 
Lewellyn. The harper came next, supporting him- 
self by a staff with his right hand, and leaning upon 
the arm of one of the house servants with the other. 
A stripling of an interesting appearance followed, 
who, from his age and countenance, I supposed was 
his grandson. Behind these, at some distance, were 
two or three of the family household, who were 
drawn after by motives of curiosity. 

Though far from expecting the Welsh harp, and 
particularly with such a convoy, I had little leisure 
to ruminate on the disappointment. The harper 
himself soon arrested my attention, and produced an 
impression which can never be erased. His ap- 
pearance throughout, was prepossessing and venera- 
ble. Though his countenance was much furrowed, 

10=^ 



1 14 EXCURSION FROM 

it retained a benignant expression ; and his person 
was tall and commanding, notwithstanding a slight 
inclination, the effect of his years. What remained 
of his hair, which was almost white with age, was 
collected behind, and hung loosely upon his should- 
ers. His dress was comme il faut ; in other words, 
Sufficiently singular to be in keeping. But the inter- 
terest which was inspired by his general appearance, 
was heightened by perceiving that whatever might 
be his joy in the ' light of the song,' he mourned 
the extinction of the visual ray, and that at least in 
fate, if not in renown, he claimed kindred with 

Blind Thamyris, and blind McEonide» 
And Tiiesiasand Phineus, prophets old. 

Being led to a seat, and having paused a little to 
Tecover breath, he commenced putting his instru- 
ment in order, and at the same time returned replies 
to the inquiries which I made, in a manner which 
still further awakened sj^mpathy. He was from 
Wales, he said, and a native of Anglesea. In early 
life he was deprived of his sight, and obhged, by con- 
sequence, to resort for a livelihood to his present 
occupation.*^ Finding himself at length neglected io 

* The case of many who when deprived of vision, enjoy a 
peculiar refinement in the sense of hearing as well as touch, can- 
not have failed to strike the most casual observer. Any one who 
has resided in a large city, may probably bring to mind some 
professed musician, blind either from birth, or by some casu- 
alty in later life. Milton, who has recorded liis own ca^- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 115 

common with his few other associates, he rosolved 
on crossing the channel, in the hope of bettering his 
condition by pursuing his calUng among a people of 
kindlier feelings. He had been in this city a num- 
ber of years, and had met with encouragement, 
(hough that, he said, had declined. ' I can remem- 
ber,' he added, ' when the harper was every where 
received with a welcome, and found a ready home. 
But times have changed, and I too have changed. I 
feel the chills of age increasing daily upon me, and 
I fear that there will be little seeming cause of won- 
der at my declining estimation, should any past skill 
which I may have possessed, be judged of from 
my present efforts.' I assured him, that he wrong- 
ed me if he thought that I was not already sufficient- 
ly interested to admire any trials on his instrument ; 
and to his inquiry if there were any airs which I 
would propose, he was gratified by my replying that 
his own native music would be preferable, although 

amity in immortal verse, had an ear not more delicately per- 
ceptive of the harmony of numbers, than attuned to the nicest 
melody of sounds. It was his morning's recreation, either to 
listen to, or bear a part in various exercises of music, in the 
science of which he greatly excelled. Carolan, the famous 
Irish musician, was blind. His name in connection with this 
fact, recals a circumstance which the writer omitted to men- 
tion in its proper place. In the chapel of the castle, he saw 
a sculptured head of this musician on the front of the organ 
loft, with a note book before it, although, as is well known, 
he was horn blind. This blunder, which might be regarded 
whimsical enough in any place, may be termed in reference to 
its Hibernian oii'iiii, an avhitectural Bull. 



lis EXCURSION FROM 

I wished him to consult his own taste in the particu- 
lar selection. 

While his hand passed over the string and touched a 
hasty symphony, I endeavoured to define the impres- 
sion which the unlooked for appearance of a figure so 
extraordinary had excited. He seemed to belong to 
an earlier age, and to represent the hard of Fingal 
or some kindred minstrel. His song I felt assured 
must be that of other times ; and while my memory 
reverted to that description of Ossian, — ' Night 
closed around ; Carril struck the harp, his grey hair 
glittering in the beam,' — 1 was prepared to respond 
to the call of some viewless spirit, ' Son of Alpin 
strike the string and let the voice of music arise. 
I stand in the cloud of years ; few are its openings 
towards the past, and v.'hen the vision comes, it is 
but dim and dark ; but 1 hear thee, harp of Cona ! 
my soul returns like a breeze which the sun brings 
back to the vale where dwelt the lazy mist.' 

However high my expectations of the harpers 
skill had been raised, and however much his appear- 
ance had prepossessed me, I was nowise disappoint- 
ed by what followed. As the tones which he waked 
struck upon his ear, his frame seemed to feel an 
inspiring energy, and his countenance beamed with 
the fire which kindled in his bosom. His hand 
forgot the palsy of age, and ' swept the sounding 
chords,' with a boldness and freedom, combined 
with a delicacy and correctness, which proved that 
he was still capable of sustaining the honours of 



EDmBURGH TO DUBLIN. 117 

minstrelsy, and that, though last, he was not least in 
the line of Cambrian Bards. I had heard this 
instrument repeatedly played before, but never with 
an effect comparable to the present. The harper 
was as willing to prolong its tones, as 1 was to enjoy 
them ; and after an entertainment of two hours, 
which succeeded not merely in chasing my own 
gloom, but in communicating a kindred satisfaction 
to many others, he concluded, at my desire, with the 
national air, ' Of noble race was Shenkin,' — an air, 
which, to my taste, unites within its short compass, 
all the sweetness and all the majesty of song. 

I was happy a few days ago, in forming an ac- 
quaintance with Mr. R******* a junior fellow in 
tlie university, and a gentleman of extraordinary 
acquirements. At the early age of fourteen, he 
published a volume of poems which possess no 
inconsiderable merit, notwithstanding their being the 
production of a mind so juvenile. Six years after- 
wards, he was elected to his present office which 
was a flattering distinction, as vacancies in these 
fellowships are supplied out of many competitors 
who undergo very rigorous public examinations. 
These examinations are often prolonged through 
three days, and of course require a thorough prepa- 
ration. Mr. R., though scarcely 23 years of age, 
has since amply fulfilled the expectations which 
were formed by the early expansion of his genius, 
and the singular precocity of his reputation. 



m EXCURSION FROM 

Breakfasting at his rooms this morning, I had the 
pleasure to meet two or three other very intelli- 
gent gentlemen, who hold fellowships in Trinity 
College. The whole number of these livings in the 
university, is twenty-two ; seven senior, and fifteen 
junior. The salaries of the senior fellows are large ; 
varying from 7 to £900 sterling. Those of most of 
the junior are as low as £120 and even £100 ; but 
then they have the prospect of rising to the higher 
form by right of eldership, and they receive in the 
meanwhile a large part of the avails from tuition. 
Besides these fellowships, the university has three 
medical professorships, and five which it owes to 
royal munificence in the several departments of 
divinity, common law, civil law, materia medica and 
Greek. There are also professors of mathematics, 
natural philosophy, botany, rhetoric and the oriental 
tongues. 

The course of discipline and instruction in Trinity 
college, is modelled after the habits of the English 
universities. The students are divided into three 
ranks, fellow-commoners, pensioners and sizers. 
The latter are supported, or receive assistance in an 
eleemosynary manner chiefly, though, in return, 
they perform some slight services, such as are 
required of the poorer scholars in some American 
colleges. Each student on entering the university, 
has the liberty of choosing whether he will be a 
feilow-commoner, or a pensioner. If the former, 
Ms necessary expenses are nearly doubled. He 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 119 

.sits, indeed, at the same table in the hall with the 
fellows, and enjoys a few other privileges ; but as 
each student on becoming a member of the univer- 
sity is obliged to enter his name with one of the 
junior fellows in order to pursue his studies under 
his direction, the fellow-commoner, if the individual 
chooses to become one, is charged about as much 
again as the pensioner ; that is to say, about £30 
annuall}'^ to the officer, instead of 15 or £16. And 
this is but one item in the increased expenditure. 
Sons of noblemen, and of the richer and more distin- 
guished gentry, become fellow-commoners, but the 
pensioners, as might be supposed, constitute the 
great body of the students. Evening tea and break- 
fast, are taken both by fellows and pupils in their 
respective rooms, but dinner is served up in the 
refectory, or public hall. It is common with the 
junior fellows to complain of the burden of their 
duties, and they look forward with considerable 
impatience to the period when with their office 
they may enjoy oiium cum dignitate ; or rather to 
transpose the phrase, dignitatem cum otio. But they 
are subjected to a grievance, of which some are 
disposed more loudly to complain, although, perhaps, 
it is but a fair offset for the comforts attendant upon 
an academic living. By a special provision in the 
college statutes, a fellow in the university is doomed 
to a life of celibacy, unless a dispensation from the 
inhibition is procured from the king. 



129 EXCURSION FROM 

It was gratifying^ to me, to take a still nearei: 
view than I had yet obtained of the manners of the 
Dublin literati, and this I enjoyed at the dinner- 
table of the provost, in the evening". The Rev. 
gentleman had requested my company, with a view, 
as he politely intimated, of making me acquainted 
with a few men of letters, whom he proposed bring- 
ing together on the occasion. Thirty or more guests 
were assembled, among whom were the most pro- 
minent characters connected with the university, 
and also several eminent city sa-oans. Conversation 
was dignified, but tempered with a proper degree of 
freedom. It had nothing of that buckram which is 
often found to mark both the conversation and man- 
ners of those, who, devoted to sedentary and con- 
templative pursuits, prefer a life of seclusion to that 
collision with the world, which tends to brighten 
what is solid, and give currency to what is valuable. 

If my opportunities for forming an estimate of the 
polite, as well as intellectual society of Dublin had 
been confined to the present, the result could not 
have failed to be in the highest degree favourable. 
I recollect, before my arrival here, to have heard a 
friend in a panegyric upon the country, pronounce 
an Irish gentleman to be a finished gentleman. 
How far this opinion was founded upon an amiable 
but undue partiality consequent upon a cordial re- 
ception which he had himself experienced, I had 
then to learn. The result in my own mind has 
since been, that the belief was in no respect erro- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 121 

neous. The polished inhabitant of Dublin has all 
that high-toned refinement of manners, which charac- 
terises the gentry of the same rank, in the English 
and Scottish capitals ; and from a constitutional 
warmth and frankness of feehng, superadds an urba- 
nity to his courtesies, which oftentimes the stranger 
in vain looks for among them. Of the guests who 
were assembled at the Provost's, there were gentle- 
men who to their other information, added the obser- 
vations which they had made by foreign travel ; and 
I was not disappointed in finding that while they 
had thereby shaken off every undue local prejudice, 
they cherished an unabated, nay it would seem, a 
stronger attachment towards the land of their birth. 
It would be reasonable to expect that the univer- 
sity should partake much of this pride, which re- 
spects the country generally ; but a stranger, at least 
an American, might be surprised on learning the 
estimation in which it is actually held. In sohd 
science. Trinity college professes to yield to no uni- 
versity in the Three Kingdoms, excepting Cam- 
bridge ; and with that it aspires, at no distant day, to 
cope successfully. Less however, is known of it in 
America, I am inclined to think, than of the British 
universities ; and even the English scholars have af- 
fected, till of late, a sadduceism in respect to its 
claims. But leaving to other hands the decision of 
these, I would just remark in passing, that the inves- 
titure of the gown, is by no means thought to pre- 
clude the wearer from the privilege, of blending 

11 



m EXCURSION FROM 

with the pursuits of pure learning, the art of good 
living. The provost's table presented a luxurious 
display of viands, and the glasses, as they briskly 
circulated, sparkled with wines of ' ruby' brightness, 
and rarest excellence. The guests who returned to 
the drawing room did not separate till a late hour, 
and it was nearly one before they all took leave. 
Sir Richard Musgrave was the magnet. His vivid 
wit and various anecdote render him the delight of 
the circles which he frequents ; and on the present 
occasion, some favourite recollections being awaken- 
ed, he threw around him the fine sallies of his hu- 
mour with an- effect which was irresistiblj^ amusing.* 

* The author of these papers may be pardoned for here ex- 
pressmg a passing acknowledgment for the attentions which he 
received from this gentleman during his stay in Dublin, and for 
the remembrance v>^ith which he subsequently honoured him. 
Sir Richard, though then in the vigour of health and usefulness, 
lived but about ten months after, and fell a victim to the typhus 
fever in its destructive march through Ireland. He possessed a 
mind of strong native powers, which had been greatly strength- 
ened by culture and exercise ; but at the same time, he inherited 
an impetuosity of feeling, which occasionally hurried him be- 
yond the bounds of strict prudence, particularly on political 
ground. As a citizen, notwithstanding, he was eminently use- 
ful, and rendered important services to government. Nor did 
any political predilections ever cause him to swerve from what 
lie conceived to be the path of duty. His opponents never dar- 
ed to arraign the purity of his motives ; and in the various offii- 
ces which he sustained, all parties did homage to his command* 
ing talents, and his stern and unbending integrity. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 123 

The Dublin hours of dining, are immoderately 
late. The four and five o'clock habits of North 
Britain were sufficiently unreasonable, at least ac- 
cording to my plain Yankee notions ; but the good 
citizens of Dublin prefer to follow more closely the 
Westminster standard : six, half past six, and sevea 
are usual hours of appointment on cards ; and I have 
sat down to dinner as late as eight. 

April 30. — I have repeatedly admired, in my 
walks through the city, the new Post office which is 
erecting on a magnificent scale ; and which when 
completed, will not only form a great architectural 
embellishment to Dubhn, but be probably the most 
perfect establishment of the kind in the world. It 
occupies a fine position near Nelson's monument, 
and presents a noble front. 

The method of conveying letters by the general 
post is now under excellent regulation in Ireland ; 
and for safety and despatch is not surpassed even in 
England. The mail coaches are provided with 
guards, who with the driver, are well armed ; and 
they travel at the rate of eight miles an hour, ia- 
cluding the necessary delays. 

Among other methods which were devised by the 
conspirators in the Rebellion of 1798 to convey in- 
teUigence, it was agreed that the signal for the 
general rising should be the stoppage of the public 
coaches which daily departed from the Metropohs 
to different parts of the kingdom. The agents ap-. 
pointed to carry into execution this resolve, to make 



124 EXCURSION FROM 

thorough work, not content with detaining, actually 
destroyed and burnt the Belfast coach near Santry, 
the Athlone coach at Lucan, and the Cork, near 
Naas ; — and to add to the atrocity of the whole, at 
Kildare, they wantonly murdered the guard and 
driver of a mail coach which was on its way to Li- 
merick. These outrages but faintly illustrate the 
introductory horrors of that rebellion, whose whole 
course was marked with devastation and blood ; a 
rebellion, which reared its baleful head in defiance 
of all order and of law ; and which not only threat- 
ened at its birth the prostration of every barrier of 
legitimate sovereignty in Ireland, but shook the pil- 
lars of the British throne. 

It is worthy of remark that whatever may be the 
grievances under which the poorer classes in this 
country have for a long period laboured, all disturban- 
ces which have had redress for their ostensible object, 
have been distinctly traceable to Catholic instigation. 
I well know indeed that the Catholics themselves 
have been subjected to an oppression which has cal- 
led loudly for atonement ; — and that reparation has 
been too tardily administered. But yet facts will 
bear me out when I say, that till of late they have 
uniformly resisted the most judicious schemes for 
the amelioration and improvement of their condi- 
tion, which the exigency would admit, — and this, 
simply on the ground of their protestant origin. 
Praise-worthy endeavours have been made in many 
districts by wealthy episcopalians, to instruct and 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 125 

enlighten the lower orders of society, without re- 
gard to religious distinctions, but with little success. 
As late as the year 1801, a female charity school 
was established at Wexford, the object of which was 
to educate poor children, whether papist or pro- 
t^stant, in reading and writing, and to train them to 
habits of useful industry. Apparel was also provid- 
ed for them. At first there were eighty children 
who resorted to it ; of whom fifty-two were Catho- 
lics. But the happy effects which were anticipated 
were well nigh being utterly defeated by the bigotry 
of a popish priest in the city. He took occasion on 
a sabbath to announce to his parishioners that any of 
them who should continue to send their children to 
the school should be excommunicated. To avoid 
this penalty the latter were accordingly withdrawn. 
With such a spirit abroad as this anecdote attests, 
it has been found diflicult by the benevolent of the 
protestant persuasion to bring their plans for the 
benefit of the Catholic poor, to bear with the desir- 
ed effect ; and it is lamentable that a country which 
for natural advantages yields to none in Europe, and 
which was last in the train of vassals which bowed 
to the domination of the Roman see,* should so long 
have groaned under a multitude of evils, either re- 
sulting from the ignorance and bigotry consequent 
upon an attachment to the dogmas of that hierarchy, 

* Ireland did not embrace the Catholic roligion till the begin- 
ning of the twelfth century. 

11 * 



126 EXCURSION FROM 

or from the measures resorted to by government to 
check their influence and neutralize their eifects. 

For a series of years preceding the close of the 
last century, popery in Ireland was made the vehicle 
of sedition. The pulpits of Catholics teemed with 
invectives against protestant power, — harangues 
which served to inflame the minds of ^n ignorant 
populace ; — and on the breaking out of the great re- 
bellion, more than one Romish priest, with a lamb-hke 
spirit which would have suited the genius of Peter 
the Hermit, girded the sword and led forth his in- 
surgent flock. In Wexford, Fathers Michael and 
John Murphy, par nobile fratrum^ — erected their 
rebel standards, and having received all who repair- 
ed to them, marched with fire and sword through 
that flourishing county, and spread dismay along the 
borders of Carlow and Waterford. Since the X^nion, 
or more properly, since the year 1803, when disaf- 
fection put forth another and a final convulsive 
struggle, reformation in the habits, the morals, the 
civil condition of the Irish poor has been making 
rapid progress. The hopes of the turbulent have 
been broken by successive defeats. Government 
has manifested a spirit of concession, without relax- 
ing from that circumspection and energy necessary 
to its stability. The free and charter schools which 
have been opened in different parts of the kingdom 
have been instrumental in diflusing useful know- 
ledge, and in disciplining the children of the peasan- 
try in habits of order and sobriety. The land hold- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. U7 

er has been encourag-ed to enclose and improve his 
wastes and commons.* English manufacturers and 
capitalists have been invited to settle in the country, 
at will ; — and from the conjoint operation of these 
multiplied causes, thousands have been reclaimed 
from idleness and vice, and bread has been dealt to 
famishing multitudes. 

I should be unwilling to omiit subjoining in this 
place, a remarkable instance of the benefits resulting 
to the community from a judicious employment of 
the poor, accompanied with a suitable attention to 
their morals, which has been evidenced by '1 hos. 
Nowland, Esq. of Kilkenny. This gentleman hav- 
ing recently put into operation in that country, a 
very extensive woollen manufactory, has endeavour- 
ed to improve to the uttoost, the condition of those 
whom he employs; and to ascertain whether the 
establishment, instead of proving a bane to morals, 
might not be rendered a nursery of correct and ex- 
emplary habits. The buildings are so arranged as 
to admit and secure an entire separation of the sexes. 
The apprentices, besides receiving gratuitously a 
suitable school education, are presented with the 
needful elementary books, as well as others of an 
excellent moral tendency ; and to guard against the 
evils which are often occasioned by the fluctuations 
incident to their employment, they are instructed in 

* Not quite a century has elapsed since an Irish Pailiament 
deemed it necessary to enact that every occupier of one hun- 
dred acres of land should keep five of them under tillage ; and 
this was then thought to be seeming a great point. 



128 EXCURSION FROM 

the use of the implements of husbandry, and taught 
to combine thereby, the healthful habits of the pea- 
sant with the skill and aptitude of the manufacturer. 
The benefits which were contemplated have been 
happily realized, and their influence has extended 
beyond the immediate neighbourhood. ' 'I'hus,' 
says the humane and enterprising proprietor, (I 
quote his words from a sketch of the history of the 
estabHshment, which he presented to the Dubhn so- 
ciety of arts, and a copy of which, with an engraved 
view of the buildings, he obligingly presented to 
me.) ' Thus have peace and civilization been dif- 
fused around it ; an idle, poor, and ignorant race, 
have been converted into an industrious, educated, 
and moral people ; and in securing the happiness of 
above 300 individuals, its immediate objects, it has 
thrown a shield over the persons and property of all 
within the sphere of its influence and enabled them, 
though within a few miles of a disturbed district, to 
isleep secure without lock or bolt.^ 

I return from these remarks to the incidents of 
my narrative. There is a singular vehicle used in 
this city called a car, and another little less singular, 
though rather more comfortable, termed a jingle. 
They have no tops, and are drawn by one horse. 
The former has a square body swung low, without 
any sides, and having two seats which are placed in 
the middle, and disposed lengthwise. Each of these 
seats can accommodate three passengers ; who are 
obliged to sit back to back, with their sides, instead of 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 129 

their faces, towards the horse. The latter vehicle re- 
sembles somewhat the body of a common coach, 
with the top off; and the seats being placed at the 
sides, allow the passengers to sit face to face, al- 
though with the same awkward position towards the 
horse, as in the other case. The jingle is a good 
sort of sociable enough, but unmercifully capacious 
in respect to the poor beast who is to draw it. The 
ear, on the other hand, or to give it its whole appel- 
lation, the jaunting car, is much cheaper, and conse- 
quently in more general use. 

I was desirous, from curiosity, to try the motion 
of this vehicle ; its uncouth appearance in passing, 
having more than once drawn a smile from me. 
Walking yesterday with Capt. M***** of the Navy, 
towards a friend's house, I incidentally mentioned 
the thought. ' Allans done ;' said he, ' we will make 
the trial together.' I confess, I did not think that he 
would have closed with the suggestion quite so read- 
ily ; however acceding, I deviated with him to a 
turn in the street, not far from a station on which 
we saw two of these machines, and their drivers in 
the most pacific mood possible, stretched upon the 
pavement near them. Our distant call brought them 
along side of their jaded horses, but not till after a 
furious scramble, of which their parti-coloured ap- 
parel had most reason to complain, coming olT as 
usual, second best. Plying their whips and running 
along side, they then urged the poor animals into a 
sort of half gallop towards the place where we were 



130 EXCURSION FROM 

waiting ; but in point of fleetness, it was easy to see 
that their masters greatly outdid them. Not content 
too, with pushing his own beast, honest Pat had an 
eye to his neighbour's, and while he lashed here, he 
counterlashed there, and this kind office being reci- 
procated, we had begun to apprehend on the princi- 
ple of opposite forces, that their luckless steeds 
would be soon brought to a stand ; but a smart stroke 
being applied by one of them across the forehead of 
the horse of his rival, the ire of the latter rose to a 
towering height, and disdaining to avenge himself 
upon a less object, he coiled his whip with tremen- 
dous eifect about the legs of his comrade, and leav- 
ing him to recover as well as he might from this 
coup-de-grace ^ made another effort to reach our 
ground and succeeded. 

The drapery of Fat when he came up, was well 
worthy of inspection. The coat looked truly venera- 
ble, and with its many scars of many similar contests, 
showed like a tattered banner in St. Paul's. It had 
suffered so severely m this latter engagement, from a 
rent having found its way from the division of the 
skirts to the cape, that it would, without fail, have 
called forth our sympathies but for Pat's coolly re- 
marking, that it had parted in the same place the 
week before, and doubtless, we thought, more than 
once before that. We were soon in the crazy ve- 
hicle, and Pat was on his stand, although hardly on 
his seat. Guiding the reins with one hand, and 
flourishing the other towards his foiled antagoni&t in 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. I3I 

the rear, he dealt out a rhodomontade with ' arrah, 
and whip Peg, will you? Och, by my shoul, but i'il 
crack a shillala upoa your drum head when I get 
back, my hoaey, wont I ? Aye, and every mudder^s 
son like you, blood and oundsbut 1 will though, och.' 
But his rhetoric, notwithstanding reiteration, was un- 
happily lost upon the other, who had better employ- 
ment than listening ; and as long as the vehicle was 
in sight, pursued it with a similar bilhngsgate rejoin- 
der, marvellously to our satisfaction. 

Friend Pat in the meanwhile drove on, despite 
of our remonstrance, with all attainable speed; the 
car occasionally giving us a jolt which the ribs of Peg 
could scarcely have withstood. At length it was in- 
timated, that as no terms had been made, it was at 
our option to pay him by the time. Immediately Pat 
recollected that his beast had been drove ' owr hard' 
in the morning, and ' wa'ant it a pity if their hon- 
ors wa'ant in no haste to drive a poor cratur to death 
for nothing.' Peg understanding the hint, soon 
trudged in a provokingly slow pace. * Why Pat,' 
we both spoke as we were going up a slight ascent, 
when the animal once or twice seemed actually 
asleep, ' why Pat, you do not call this a hill V ' Och, 
your honors, but I don't call it a hollow ;' and such 
was the spirit of all his replies. Proceeding with 
this hearse-like march, along Stephen's green, where 
the gallant Captain has many friends, our humble 
equipage did not prevent several fair hands from being 
waved, accompanied however with a smile and look 



132 EXCURSION FROM 

of inquiry; but neither of us had cause to regret 
our arrival at the place of debarkation. Pat receiv- 
ed for the passage, just double the legal fare ; but 
hoping to better the account, wished '• their honors' 
to consider the time that had been spent ; and, 'had'nt 
he lost opportunities therefore to drive other jontil- 
men,' and '• fath he could'nt tah the fi' ten-pennies.' 
My friend glancing significantly, requested a return 
of the monej^, which was readily given back in the 
hope of an increase. Pocketing it however, he was 
proceeding deliberately up the steps, when Pat 
timed a suitable acknowledgment, and receiving ' no- 
thing loth,' the ten-pennies, mounted his car, and 
drove back to settle the point of honour with his 
comrade. 

The corrupt use of language in pronunciation, for 
which this country is so noted, that even the dogs 
have been said to hark in a brogue^ is not a little grat- 
ing to a stranger's ear, until familiarized by use. It 
is sensibly worse than the yeow and other Joe- 
Bunkerisms of New-England, but after all it is not 
quite so bad as i had been led to imagine. It is de- 
cidedly preferable in my opinion to the broad Scotch, 
and most of the provincial dialects in England ; and 
this which is true of the lower orders, is the more re- 
markable the higher the parallel is carried. The bet- 
ter classes of Dublin have little of the Hibernian sib- 
boleth ; and its men of letters speak the English lan- 
guage with even Oxonian purity. Their organs of 
utterance are as flexile as those of the Londoners, 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 133 

and they enjoy this advantage over them, at least 
over the cockneys of Bow Bell, that without any 
of their dipt, mincing pronunciation, they bring 
their words out full and well coined. The citi- 
zens of Edinburgh, on the other hand, have a muf- 
fled tone of voice ; and they articulate in such a 
trotting, up and down cadence, that an English ear 
is half the time puzzled to know whether they are 
serious. 

The Irish have a great vivacity in conversation, 
and are distinguished, as is well known, for a fond- 
ness of metaphor and a quickness of illustration. 
Various instances of the latter pecuUarity are present 
to my mind, although it is sufficient to mention only 
one. Being with a mixed party at a friend's house 
the other day, conversation turned upon the proba- 
ble effects of the redundant population of the sister 
isle, and particularly of that enormous mass concen- 
trated in London. ' England' said one, ' I conceive 
to be valetudinarian. She is an hydrocephalus sub- 
ject ; and the peccant humours which are collected in 
London as its head^ will, ere long, prove the destruc- 
tion of the whole body politic' ' You are not quite 
right there,' rejoined another, ' it is no morbid action. 
England remains as sound as ever. But she is not 
rightly burdened ; a sailor would call her crank. In 
a word, she is top-heavy ; and depend upon it, Lon- 
don is the head which will sink the nation.^ 

I have before taken occasion to hazard an opinion 

upon the soi-disant beauty of the Irish women. From 

12 



134 EXCURSION FROM 

the general sentiment as then advanced, I have found 
no cause hitherto to dissent; although I am free to 
say, that I have paid a willing homage to a few sig- 
nal exceptions to its truth. The remark however, 
was in no respect intended to touch upon the accom- 
plishments in mind or manners of the Dublin fair, for 
the fascinations of these, a stranger cannot fail at 
first glance, to acknowledge and admire. To day, 
too, in a circle at the solicitor-general's, I met with 
ladies who, for beauty of countenance and person, 
not only reflect a brilliancy upon the Emerald Isle, 
but would grace the splendours of any Parisian cote- 
rie. The lady of the S. G. is herself distinguished 
for the elegance of her appearance, and combines a 
finished refinement of manners with the reported en- 
dowments of an exrilted mind. The evening amuse- 
ments of the drawing room were interspersed with 
music on the piano and harp, in the execution of 
which, great skill and taste were displayed. 

But I must not forget to mention a gratification 
which I have experienced, in hearing the tones of 
the true Irish harp. The Welsh performer who had 
so greatly interested me, informed me that he knew 
of one who played that instrument in this city, and 
that whenever I should wish it, he would procure 
his attendance. In the course of this morning, I ac 
cordingly sent to have him produced. His harp was 
about one half the size of the common pedal harp, 
and one third, that of the Welsh. It was strung with 
wire instead of catgut, as is the latter, and this gave 



EDIjN BURGH TO DUBLIN. 135 

its tones a sharper, indeed, somewhat a shrill sound. 
The music nevertheless was good, and struck my 
fancy very much. It was heightened perhaps by as- 
sociation; the airs which were selected being na- 
tive Irish, and they embraced the best of Tom 
Moore's Melodies, not forgetting the ' harp that 
once through Tara's halls,' and the ' glories' of brave 
Brien. The appearance of the harper was very lit- 
tle a-la-mode. He was a plain, prose-like looking 
being ; but of civil manners and address. He was 
born in Ulster, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 
Belfast, and had come to Dublin with an associate 
who now shares with him the gains and honours of 
minstrelsy. 

May 1st. — This is May-day, but Dublin has ex- 
hibited few of those festivities which used to mark 
the occasion, and which are still kept up in many 
parts of England. The most that I have seen out 
of the common course is the grotesque appearance 
of the chimney-sweeps. This is a holyday to them, 
and well it would be for the sake of humanity if 
they had the first day of every month. They deck 
themselves on the present occasion with figured 
paper-caps and ornaments, and patrole the side 
walks soliciting season-pence from every passenger. 
Usquebaugh, perhaps, has flowed rather more copi- 
ously than usual ; and Pat accordingly has been in 
his element. Passing near several tap-rooms, my 
ear was regaled by the melody of that lyre of all 
nations, the fiddle ; whilst Teague was keeping 



,13S EXCURSION FROM 

time to the chorus with a ' nate little bit of a tid- 
re-i.' 

The Foundling hospital established here, is a most 
humane institution. I had hitherto deferred a visit 
to it, but should have regretted deeply to have left 
the city without seeing it. The measures which 
are adopted by the managers of this hospital for the 
preservation of children, undoubtedly rescue annu- 
ally a large number from death. It has been usu- 
al for a cradle to be kept constantly at the gate for the 
reception of those exposed, that parents might be 
deterred from the crime of infanticide, either through 
inability to give them support, or a desire to avoid 
a detection of their shame. The institution is sup- 
ported solely by the inhabitants of Dublin, although 
infants are brought to it from all parts of the king- 
dom. A tax of j£l 0,000 yearly is collected for this 
purpose from the city and liberties, which is raised 
chiefly by an assessment of one shilling in the pound 
on each house. 1 he children who are admitted in- 
to the establishment average one hundred and eighty 
a month ; but a mortality of one fourth for the same 
period has not been unfrequent. The hospital it- 
self accommodates one thousand ; and five thousand 
more are with country nurses. They are all at a 
suitable age instructed in reading and writing and 
the principles of the protestant faith, after which 
they are apprenticed. 

In the nursery there is a clock which was pre- 
sented by a titled lady some forty or fifty years ago, 
feut coupled with an inscription which runs in the 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 137 

following serio-comico phraseology, ' For the benefit 
of inflxnts, — Lady Arabella Denny presents this 
clock to mark, that as children who are fed by the 
spoon must have but a small quantity of food at a 
time, it must be offered frequently. For which pur- 
pose this clock strikes every twenty minutes, at 
which notice all the infants that are not asleep must 
be discreetly fed.' 

A friend accompanied me to Feinagle's school, and 
Christ church. As the regulations of the former 
of these are generally known by the many reports 
which are before the public, and the intimations giv- 
en in the Art of memory, a description here is un- 
necessary. The institution, it may be added, has 
thus far fulfilled expectation and redeemed the 
pledge of the projector. The arrangements and 
course of discipline, nevertheless, struck me as 
needlessly complex and artificial. 

Christ church — to use a strong figure — is the 
Westminster Abbey of Dublin ; but the actual re- 
semblance is very imperfect. It is an ancient edifice 
of little grandeur and less beauty, and was founded 
as early as the commencement of the eleventh cen- 
tury. It has undergone few alterations since, except 
on the south side of the nave, the walls of which fell 
down in the year 1562. This accident injured se- 
verely a monument to earl Strongbow — ' the fijrst 
and pryyicipall invader of Irland 1169, qvi obiit 
1177,' — as an inscription states ; and happened under 
the viceroyalty of 

12* 



138 EXCURSION FROM 

TH : RIGHT : HONORABL : T : ERL : 

OF : svssEX : l. : levtnt : 

The monument is a curious piece of old statuary, 
representing tlie earl in armour, with part of a fe- 
male figure at his side, both lying extended on a 
block of stone. It is difficult to convey to an Ameri- 
can an accurate conception of these avncyent speci- 
mens of sculpture. In cathedrals and abbey 
churches they are generally found in the side aisles, 
or between the pillars, or in the chapels and clois- 
ters which adjoin the main structure. The ashes of 
those they commemorate are under the pavement 
somewhere, but not always very near, the location 
of the monument above being a point of most con- 
sequence. Sometimes the deceased is represented 
in a recumbent position upon the top of a raised 
slab, with the hands closed on the breast, as in the 
act of praying ; the whole being sculptured from a 
mass of stone, and presenting a lugubrious spectacle ; 
looking as natural^ that is, as much like a human form 
as the outer casing of an Egyptian mummy. Not 
unfrequenfly a pair, decked in their bridal apparel, 
are so exhibited, and occasionally a whole family 
group. If the deceased be a prelate, he is found 
kneeling in his pontificals and mitre, though not in 
the most melting mood ; whilst the warrior is seen 
reclining on his arms, with an aspect grim as that of 
Gog and Magog of Guildhall memory, or the redoubt- 
able Jack the Giant killer. In St. Patrick's cathedral 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIA". 139 

I remember to have seen a curious whole length sta- 
tue of Michael Tregury, formerlj'- metropolitan of 
Dublin. The venerable primate is exhibited in flow- 
ing robes with a crosier in his hand ; and an angel is 
made fast to his side by rings on his fingers. 

But there is another piece of singular statuary 
which just now occurring to my mind, I mention to 
introduce an account of some repairs which it un- 
derwent by a hand not generally deemed the most 
plastic, which may thence convey an idea of the beau- 
ties to be looked for in these monumental antiquities. 

lu an old church in the town of Truro, in Corn- 
wall, there is a large massive monument which is 
erected to the memory of John Roberts, Esq., who 
died in 1614. It was originally decorated with se- 
veral figures, and having fallen into decay, was a few 
years since repaired by orders of Miss H*** of 
Lanradick, a descendant of the family. When it 
was finished the mason presented an account, of 
which the following is a hteral copy ; — ' To putting 
one new foot to Mr. John Roberts, mending the 
other, putting seven new buttons to his coat, and a 
new string to his breeches'-knees : to two new feet 
to his wife Philips, mending her eyes and putting a 
new nosegay into her hand : to two new hands and 
anew nose to the captain : to two new hands to his 
wife, and putting a new cuff to her gown : to making 
and fixing two new wings on Time's shoulders, mak- 
ing a new great-toe, mending the handle to his sithe, 
and putting a new blade to it j' — all of which itemIS 



140 EXCURSION FROM 

are severally drawn out and balanced by pounds, 
shillings, and pence. 

Mr. John Roberts, designated by the '• new string 
to hisbreeches'-knees,' is in a reclining posture, with 
an open prayer book before him, whilst his lady is 
lying very comfortably on her side, with the' new 
nosegay,' in her hand, as specified in the mason's 
bill. The ' seven new buttons' are plainly distin- 
guishable, and the captain's ' new nose' and the ' two 
new feet to his wife Phihps,' are now happily in ex- 
cellent order. Time, also, with his ' two new wings,' 
and *• new great-toe,' and sithe handle, looks as 
blithesome and fresh as any May-day chimney-sweep. 

May 2d. — The weather, ever since my arrival in 
Dublin, has been uncommonly fine. In a country, 
nevertheless, so proverbial for its humidity as Ire^ 
land, I was prepared to expect frequent, if not 
daily showers ; instead of which I have almost unin- 
terruptedly enjoyed bright suns and clear skies. 
Not a drop of rain has fallen since 1 landed at Dona- 
ghadee ; — the heavens at this moment are arrayed 
in the deepest blue ; and the sun shines as cheerily 
as ever it did in Massachusetts. 

This is the more acceptable just now as I had 
made arrangements to leave Dublin to-day in a vessel 
bound to the north of England. Were I to consult 
simply my feelings, my stay here would be protract- 
ed much longer : — but other and indispensable 
engagements preclude it. Through the many kind 
assiduities of friends, however, 1 have been enabled 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 141 

to comprise much within a short period ; — and in 
reviewing what has transpired, I am induced to 
beheve that the days which I have spent in this city 
have been as profitably employed as so many weeks 
would have been under circumstances less favourable 
for observation. 

In leaving Dublin it is impossible not to carry 
with me a gratetul recollection of the urbanity, and, 
I will add, the overflowing hospitality of its inhabi- 
tants. Something of this my friends in Scotland had 
authorized me to anticipate ; and the letters with 
which they honoured me, gave the promise of every 
reasonable attention. But after all, it is the manner 
in which courtesies are shown to the stranger which 
gives them their chief value ; — and whoever has 
experienced the cordiality of an Irish welcome 
knows that there is a kindness expressed by it, 
which no solicitations of friendship can purchase or 
ensure. 

In general, I look upon a letter of introduction as 
a sort of lottery ticket I receive it for better or 
worse, and am willing to try its fortune ; although 
nothing is lost by calculating against it ; — and the 
principle perhaps is one with which every traveller 
would do well to lay his account. But by this I 
would not be understood to intimate that an entire 
neglect of any letter recommendatory need be ap- 
prehended on its delivery ; — but rather that the 
bearer should be prepared for that cold, unmeaning 
acknowledgment of it which shows itself in little 



142 EXCURSION FROM 

somethings, which in fact amount to nothings ; or 
which is satisfied with a general proffer ef civility, 
or perhaps the giving a soUtary card to some formal 
dinner or crowded rout, — all which if any one 
chooses to distinguish by the term hospitality, he is 
at liberty so to do ; hut he must allow me the privi- 
lege of dissenting from his construction. The tra- 
veller, notwithstanding, who visits Dublin, may dis- 
miss all fears in regard to the fate of his creden- 
tials. If he comes properly recommended, he will 
be received with a frank and generous kindness ; 
and if he possesses any share of sensibility he will 
go away with deep and lasting impressions of grati- 
tude. 

Towards my own countrymen, particularly, I am 
persuaded that a more than common good will is 
entertained by the better, as well as the humbler 
classes of inhabitants in this city. The present 
friendly intercourse subsisting between Great Britain 
and the United States, is regarded with great satisr 
faction. It is a topic which I have often heard 
adverted to ; and whenever mentioned, is accom- 
panied with the aspiration, Esto perpetuum. 

Being at a friend's house last evening, and conver- 
sation happening to turn upon the late hostilities 
between the two countries, — I was amused with 
the remarks of a lady who ingeniously maintained 
that not only was it for their mutual interest to per- 
petuate the present harmony, but that uniformly it 
had been the wish of England to ^reserve it. In 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 143 

confirmation of her assertions, though with a smile 
which somewhat betrayed her confidence in the 
.weight of the evidence adduced, she referred to a 
little jeu d'esprit which appeared in an American 
journal on occasion of ]Mr. Rose going out as minister 
to the United States in the year 1811. 

That Britain seeks for peace these facts disclose, 
She sends as messenger of Peace a *' Rose ;" 
The bark which bears that messinger of Peace 
Is named " Stat-ira," — that's, Let anger cease. 

But further recollections I have at present no leisure 
to trace. The vessel in which I have taken passage 
will weigh anchor probably about 1 o''clock. Mean- 
while, a few leave-takings, — the traveller's penalties, 
— remain to be attended to. For myself I can 
truly say, ' Hce sunt Lachrymce rerum. 

May 3d. On board 'Samuel and Thomas,' Irish Sea. 

Yesterday at the hour appointed, I left Dublin, 
and embarked in the present vessel for Whitehaven, 
in England. The breeze, though favourable, was 
light ; and we were acccordingly at first much re- 
tarded in descending the Liffey, and entering fairly 
the bay. This, however, allowed me to survey 
more leisurely the beauties of the latter; and I must 
say that they disappointed me not a httle. I have 
often heard this bay compared with that of Naples ; 
— as indeed every fine bay in the world has been 



144 EXCURSION FROM 

I believe, in its turn ; — but certainly if the bay of 
Naples is no better than this of Dublin they are both 
decidedly eclipsed by that of Boston. 

Dublin itself is far from making that fine figure, 
viewed from the water, which I had supposed. 
It lies low, instead of crowning an eminence at the 
head of the bay, which might have made it a noble 
object. It is destitute also of a sufficient number of 
steeples and domes ; — embellishments requisite to 
every fine city. It has, it is true, a few ; and these 
are striking beauties. The private houses, too, of 
Dublin are large and regularly built, and so far, 
make a good appearance, whether seen from water 
or land. The custom-house, and the stupendous 
mole extending from it three miles into the ocean 
are magnificent objects. The numerous shipping in 
the harbour and river, with their gro\'es of masts, — 
all looked well ; — but still much was wanting to 
entitle the scene to the high panegyrics which I have 
heard lavished upon it ; — 1 mean, from that point of 
view to which I am at present adverting. 

But as we dropt down lower into the bay, the 
appearance of things improved. The scenery on 
the left shore became picturesque and pleasing. 
Several neat villages and hamlets were discovered ; 
and the houses being well white-washed formed a 
pretty contrast to the deep verdure around. On the 
right were seen the blue mountains which skirt the 
county of Dublin ; and to the east, the more distant, 
but no less aspiring heights of Wickiow, The 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 145 

bay was covered with the canvass of vessels ; each 
improving hke ourselves, a favourable change in the 
wind to leave the port of Dublin. Most of these 
were distinguished by the flags of their respective 
countries ; — and I could not avoid smiling at a whim- 
sical contrast between a Norwegian brig deeply 
laden, and constructed seemingly durmg the earliest 
rudiments of ship-building, and a stately American 
ship, outward-bound for New-Vork, which was 
ploughing gallantly through the waters, — ' as though 
she wore the ocean-crown.' — The ' star-spangled 
banner,' which flaunted gaily from her mast-head, I 
beheld with a throb of pride. 

Towards night the wind freshened and the coast 
began rapidly to recede. Having remained on deck 
during most of the afternoon, I descended to the 
cabin at eight in the evening ; when casting a last 
glance at Lambay Isle and the mountains of Wicklow, 
I bade adieu to dear Erin, — probably, forever. 

Dawn found us near the Isle of Man. The shore 
is rocky and bold, and we coasted very near it. 
This island is thirty miles long, and about twelve 
broad. In its general aspect it is rugged and hilly, 
and very much resembles Anglesea. Most of the 
highest grounds seem covered with furze and other 
small under-wood. There were no trees which I 
could discern, and the captain asserts that there are 
none upon the island. This of course cannot be 
strictly true. The more level tracts appeared well 
cultivated ; and the whole island seemed populous. 

13 



146 EXCURSION FROJVf 

We saw very plainly the towns of Castleton, 
Douglass and Laxy ; — and sailed so near to the 
second of these that we descried people passing on 
horseback or on foot along the strand. The town 
is pleasantly built ; and is situated at the head of a 
small semi-circular cove. The duke of Athol has a 
iine seat near it, which the captain says — for he is 
hiy oracle just now — is occupied ' by the bishop :' — 
I suppose he means the bishop of Sodor and Man. 
The house is situated near the water's edge and is 
built in the castellated style ; — in front of it is erect- 
ed a low fort surmounted by a parapet, — a fit 
emblem, it might be thought, of a church militant. 
Near the small town of Laxy, and apparently, above 
it, I noticed a lake of considerable size. From the 
position in which I viewed it, it seemed in momentary 
readiness to overleap its banks and pour itself upon 
the village below. 

It is now about noonday. The wind has continued 
fresh ; and an half hour ago, we parted from the 
island standing over from Maughraid's head direct to 
Whitehaven, distant twenty-five miles. We hope to 
reach it in three hours. 

My accommodations onboard are tolerable ; nothing 
better. The captain is disposed to be obliging 
enough ; but as commander of a vessel, seems 
destitute of skill, and some other needful qualifica- 
tions. He kept his birth almost the whole of last 
night, even during his own watch, which was from 
12 to 4 o'clock. What aggravated this criminal 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 147 

neglect of duty was the circumstance that the mate 
of the vessel was drunk, and had been so ever smce 
our weighing anchor. 

2 P. M. — The weather having been cloudy all 
day, we did not come within sight of the English 
coast as soon as 1 had hoped. St. Bee's Head, a 
large high bluff, was the first land which we descried ; 
and then it was scarcely five miles distant. The 
captain has since been employing all hands in 
unlading the brig of its ballast to save eighteen shil- 
lings, or a pound, which he would be otherwise 
obliged to pay to have it removed from the vessel 
on his getting into harbour. The consequence is 
that she rolls with considerable violence, and if the 
wind should increase, the result might be much more 
unpleasant. 

Whitehaven is the Newcastle of Cumberland. 
Its coal mines are very valuable, and have been 
extensively worked. It is said that the miners in 
following several horizontal veins of coal, after 
sinking the perpendicular shaft to a great depth, 
have opened passages fairly under the sea ; that is 
to say, to a considerable distance without the line of 
low water mark. Admitting this report to be true, 
it is singular to reflect that in entering the harbour 
of Whitehaven, we may be sailing above the heads 
of human beings, who some hundred feet at least 
beneath us, are digging unsuspectingly, in ' the 
bowels of the harmless earth.' 



14« EXCURSION FROM 

COCERMOUTH, ClTMBERLAirD Co. SATURDAY EVENIKC. 

At three P. M. we dropt anchor in the little port 
of Whitehaven, and the next minute found me once 
more upon English ground. This was a pleasure of 
no sm ill kind ; and in stepping foot again upon the 
soil of that country, which contains much that I 
prize, and more that I admire, I could not refrain 
from repeating to myself, — ' England, with all thy 
faults, I love thee still/ 

The same rich verdure which renders the fields 
of Ireland so lovely, I found mantling the hills of 
Cumherland. The country, too, immediately round 
Wliitehaven is intersected with low embankments of 
earth, clothed with a fine green turf, instead of 
hedges of thorn ;• — in the same manner as are most 
of the enclosed lands which I saw m Ireland. The 
quays of Whitehaven are numerous and excellent ; 
but the town itself boasts of little beauty. The 
poorer inhabitants, whether men, women, or chil- 
dren, wear large clumsy, wooden shoes, which make 
a very disagreeable clattering as they tread the 
pavement ; but disagreeable as the sound is, I am 
much more pleased with it, than being obliged to see 
the same classes of people, walking the streets 
barefoot, as is the case among the Irish. 

Repairing to an inn, I learnt that no coaches 
would proceed to Keswick before Monday ; — a place 
which 'i wish much to take in my route to Edinburgh 
—and finding also no post-horses disengaged I was 
obliged, though very reluctantly, to make up my 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 149 

mind to stay in Whitehaven over Sunday. But my 
inquietude was of short continuance. A few mi- 
nutes after, a vehicle, precisely similar to the 
Irish jingle, drove to the door ; and on going to the 
window from the impulse of curiosity, wondering 
how these singular machines should have found their 
way into England, I ascertained, with surprise and 
pleasure, that it was an accommodation convejance, 
which was stopping to take in passengers for Cocer- 
mouth, a small town, somewhat more than half way 
to Keswick. — All this, by the by, though a stated 
daily arrangement, the good landlord, for very obvi- 
ous reasons, had taken care not to apprise me of 
himself. — Finding one unoccupied seat, I immediate- 
ly threw my valise into the vehicle, and the next in- 
stant it drove off. Of the other three passengers, 
one was a native of Keswick, and just landed from 
the Isle of Man ; — a very intelligent and pleasant 
companion. He was familiar with the road, and 
being rather more communicative than Englishmen 
generally are, gave me muchfinformation of places 
and things as we drove along. 

The road, for the first three or four miles, fol- 
lowed pretty closely the coast ; but afterwards, 
diverged into the interior of the country. The 
face of this was hilly and waving but by no means 
mountainous. We passed a few villages, the houses 
of which, exhibited a neat appearance. Nume- 
rous farm-houses and cottages also, were scattered 
in every direction, and in front of most of them 

13 * 



150 EXCURSION FROM 

might be seen little lawns, or gardens, or shrub- 
beries. The women whom we passed were all neat, 
and those that were young, bonnie and blooming, 
— materially improv^ed in this respect contrasted with 
the Irish. 

After a ride of eight miles, we came in view of 
the Derwentwater, — a coy little stream, — rolling 
its amber waters over a bed of pebbles, and mean- 
dering through a succession of richly enamelled 
meads. It accompanied us during the remainder of 
the way, and amused me much by its playfulness and 
prattling. One mile further I caught the first 
glimpse of Skiddaw. It is not, as 1 conceived, a 
single mountain rising in a lofty cone, but a broken, 
towering chain of highlands. Loose, lazy clouds 
were floating around their summits, alternately veil- 
ing, and disclosing them to view. As we proceed- 
ed, the scenery rose in character, assuming at every 
step, a more composed and statelier air, and after a 
delightful ride of fourteen miles, which gave ample 
presage of higher satisfactions in prospect, I was 
set down at the door of a pubUc house which pro- 
mised all the accommodations which a fatigued tra- 
veller might wish. 

KESWICK, ' ROYAL OAK,' MAY 4tH. 

What those accommodations were, — in other 
words, what is meant in general by the boasted con- 
veniences of an English inn, — those only can well 
understand, who have actually experienced them. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 15t 

The house in which I lodged last night, was no ways 
remarkably good ; indeed, comparatively indiiferent, 
yet it fully redeemed the promise which I have said 
it made on my alighting. To any one of equally 
plain habits and tastes with myself, it might be 
enough to refer, as some evidence of this, to the sup- 
per table, which ' rose like an exhalation' before me 
within ten minutes after my arrival, — being spread 
with the finest trout from the Derwent, the best 
Cumberland mutton, sparkling Ulverstone ale, and 
port of excellent body and racy flavour. But after 
all, perhaps the greatest recommendation of an En- 
glish inn, is the excellence of its beds ; — these are 
luxurious indeed, and last night I occupied one 
which Juno might have envied, with all the roses 
and -myrtles of Ida or Olympus for her couch. But 
this, en passant. 

Early in the morning, I walked out to survey the 
town of Cocermouth. It is situated on the Derwent ; is 
irregularly built, and very old in appearance. The 
immense ruins of a once noble castle, grey with 
moss, and finely clothed with ivy, crown an eminence 
which adjoins the town, and overhangs the river. 
The pile, now the property of Lord Egremont, 
was once baronial, and a place of great strength : 
erected as a defence against the predatory border 
inroads of the Scotch. 

At the hour of divine service I went to church ; 
it was well attended ; and the exercises throughout, 
were conducted with great solemnity and decorum. 



1^2 EXCURSION FROM 

The sermon was delivered by a young man, and 
possessed much merit. It was chaste and nervous 
in style, replete with excellent sentiments, and de- 
livered with judicious action, and a modest, manly 
tone of voice. The church is very antique, and 
presents a number of curious old monuments, which 
are ranged around the interior of its walls. 

Being anxious to contmue my route northward 
with as little delay as possible, early in the after- 
noon I mounted a horse, and in company with the 
gentleman who was my feilow passenger from 
Whitehaven yesterday, proceeded towards this place. 
A ride of such varied beauty and grandeur for an 
equal distance I never before enjoyed. The road 
on leaving C. soon entered the mountains ; and 
continued either winding along their feet, or climb- 
ing and skirting their acclivities, the residue of the 
way. Proceeding two or three miles, we descended 
into the beautiful vale of Lorton. It is an extensive 
and well cultivated tract, enclosed on all sides by 
high and steep mountains. The pretty village of 
Lorton, with its venerable church, stands in the cen- 
tre ; and at the extremities of the valley, are two 
or three neat hamlets. Near the latter, were seve- 
ral very flourishing plantations of larches. As we 
rode along, I noticed the sycamore, (New-England 
balm of Gilead,) the willow, (called in this neigh- 
bourhood, the palm,) and the pear-tree, in full leaf. 
The hedges of hawthorn and privet displayed also 
a luxuriant foliage. Over them the wild honey- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 153 

suckle was creeping : and on the green turf beneath, 
the daisy, violet, and primrose smiled in full bioom. 

Passing from the vale of Lorton, we penetrated 
hills of a sterner grandeur than those which we had 
left. For a considerable distance not a single enclo- 
sure appeared, and scarcely a defile fit for cultiva- 
tion, except where some mountain brook dashed 
from the precipice, and furrowed an opening amidst 
the opposing crags. These streams were frequent ; 
and from their channels it is evident, are always 
much swollen by spring and autumnal rains. The 
hills presented every species of bold and massive 
forms. The clouds as they floated heavily by, cast 
their long dark shadovv s upon them ; and these often 
produced a tine effect by falling at the feet of one of 
the highest, and ascending by a slow solemn motion 
to its very summit. 

Presently, the harsh features of the landscape 
immediately around us, began to soften into a milder 
expression. The russet tints of the little vegeta- 
tion, which had remained gradually disappeared : — 
glades of verdant grass disputed the soil with the 
heath, and whin, — which extending their surface, at 
length stretched into rich pastures on which flocks 
of sheep were feeding, enlivening the scene with 
their gambols, and regaling the ear with their beils. 

The shepherds whom 1 saw, were generally attend- 
ed with a pair of dogs of a remarkably strong and 
active breed, and distinguished for their wonderful 
sagacity. Several striking proofs of the latter quali- 



154 EXCURSION FROM 

ty, I accidentally witnessed ; and judging from these 
and other indications, 1 could not help thinking that 
these humble animals would hardly have suffered in 
the comparison of their instinct, with the reason of 
the masters whom they served. 

The right of pasturing sheep upon the uninclosed 
tracts along the hill sides in this neighbourhood, 
belongs equally to all freeholders in the adjoining 
parishes. It is given to them when they receive 
leases of their lands. 

On the ride, I occasionally noticed a raven, after 
sailing round the peaks of the mountains, poising for 
a time over a certain spot ; and my companion told 
me, that it was watching to seize and prey upon some 
young lamb. These birds, he represented as ex- 
ceedingly voracious and bold. 

1 he country at length opened somewhat, and dis- 
closed more perfectly the bold outlme of Skiddaw ; 
near the base of which, our road conducted us. Be- 
yond and directly in front, arose majestically the 
towering heights of Helvellyn ; and further to the 
right, the lofty undulating ridge of the Borrowdale 
mountains. Besides these,, numerous other steep 
hills and fells appeared in every direction, all form- 
ing one vast amphitheatre, which enclosed within 
its magnificent amplitude, the matchless vale of Kes- 
wick. 

But before dwelling upon the beauties of this ely- 
sium, I must return to the point, where the whole 
valley, to most of which Keswick gives name, open- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 1^5 

ed first on the view. My companion, 1 would here 
remark, with genuine native enthusiasm, had pre- 
viously assured me that I should find the scene, 
which would be there unfolded, the most beautiful 
which I had ever witnessed ; and in that he was not 
mistaken. 

Turning a sudden angle in the road, I first discern- 
ed the little lake of Bassenthwaite, reposing beneath 
Skiddaw, and reflecting from its placid bosom, the 
purple shadows of that stupendous mountain. Skid- 
dawdale next appeared ; e^ pretty extent of meads 
which spread themselves along its borders, and for 
some distance into the valley. A rivulet was seen 
issuing from the Bassenthwaite and hurrying through 
the dale, as if eager to bear its crystal tribute to the 
Derwent lake near Keswick. It was a modest 
stream, and seemed to shrink from observation, oc- 
casionally concealing entirely its waters among the 
windings which it pursued. But 

The matted grass ******* with livelier green 
Betrayed the secret of its silent course. 

The valley of K. encircled by the mountains, I 
have already named commences with this lake 
of Bassenthwaite and the adjacent meads. Thence, 
it extends six or eight miles ; and embraces a beauti- 
fully varied landscape, in the centre of which stands 
the town of Keswick, not far from the lake of 
that name ; called also indifferently, the lake of 
Derwent. It terminates with the romantic hamlet 



156 E-XCURSIO]N~ FIXOM 

of Grange, at the mouth of the wild pass which 
opens into the crags of Borrowdale. The whole of 
this valley is decked with the richest cultivation ; 
and even at this early season, it presents some of the 
softest and loveliest tints, which I ever saw spread 
over the face of nature. Its beauty is strikingly 
heightened by the savage grandeur of the surround- 
ing mountains. Indeed, they each add powerfully 
by contrast to the effect of the other. 

The valley is populous. Several villages are 
scattered over it ; each distinguished by the grey 
tower of its church ; while around, in every direc- 
tion, may be seen white cottages, and farm-houses, 
and country seats, some of them indeed, partly im- 
bosomed among trees or screened by creeping 
shrubs ; but all serving to vary the expression, and 
heighten the romantic beauty of the landscape. 

Keswick lake is an irregular sheet of water, about 
three miles in length. Its clearly defined border, 
is prettily edged with trees ; and several islands 
which dot its surface, are also well wooded. The 
appearance of these islands is highly picturesque ; 
and they are happily disposed for the effect of per- 
spective. On one of them, a little country-box has 
lately been erected. Its attic, just peeping from a 
hood of larches, is all however which is presented 
to the eye. 

It was after five, P. M. when we reached Kes- 
wick. Having dined, I rambled out and took a bird's- 
eye survey of the town and environs. I soon found 



EDINBURGfl TO DUBLIN. 157 

myself upon the beach of the lake ; and lingered 
among the enchanting beauties of the scene, till twi- 
light veiled them from my view. 

May 5. — Rising betimes, I bent my steps towards 
the pass of Borrowdale. It was the ' hour of prime,' 
and truly, 

— fioS'iS'cucrvXoi m; — 

a ' rosy fingered morn.' The sun indeed was hardfy 
risen, but the dappled east gave presage of his near 
approach. The air breathed a balmy fragrance ; — 
not a ripple played upon the surface of the lake ; — 
all around was peaceful and motionless. 

Leaving the town of Keswick, I entered upon a 
path which followed closely the margin of the Der- 
went, — keeping it on the right. Skiddaw was behind, 
— his summit grey with the morning mists ; — Helvel- 
lyn further off on the left rose towering in his 
pride ; — like a giant, overtopping the vassal heights 
which encircled him. 

A walk of a mile or two brought me to a thick 
wood, which presented a luxuriant, native growth of 
oak, beech, ash, birch, poplar and elder. These 
trees abound in the neighbourhood of the lake ; — 
indeed, throughout the vally of K. there is much of 
woodland, and some of it in the finest order. — Se- 
veral beautiful rills, spanned by rustic little bridges, 
crossed my path. The noise of their waterfalls, 
breaking upon the ear, relieved the stillness of 
morning. But soon the warbling of the sky-lark 
was heard, a prelude to a general concert which 
burst from every hedge and thicket and wood. 
14 



m EXCURSION FROM 

The road at length conducted to a champaigii 
tract, which was spread at the feet of a steep emi- 
nence on the left ; the latter rather barren as well 
as rugged. A shepherd — or I should say, his busier 
dog, — was leading a small flock to the hill side to 
clip the little herbage which it yielded. As I con- 
tinued my walk, the valley narrowed, though what 
remained of it was still lovely. The hill on the other 
hand, under which I was passing, assumed a sterner 
aspect ; and gradually changed to a perpendicular 
ridge of cliffs, forming a solid wall of many hundred 
feet in height. Large masses of rocks which had 
been dislodged in conflicts of the elements, and 
tumbled from a fearful elevation, were strown along 
the way-side; and in some places they almost entirely 
blocked the passage. Further on, the Fall of Low- 
dore presented itself. There was little about it, to 
attract attention. The stream being low, all that it 
exhibited was a narrow strip of foam sliding down a 
rocky declivity, of an hundred and fifty feet or more, 
and falling with a gentle murmur upon a bed of 
smoothly chafed pebbles. From the breadth of the 
channel however, it is obvious, that the body of wa- 
ter must be greatly increased in seasons of freshes. 
At such times the aspect of things is doubtless mate- 
rially changed ; — and the Fall of Lowdore, now so 
gentle and pretty, it then transformed into a wild 
and terrible cataract. 

Approaching the entrance into Borrowdale, I paus- 
ed to admire the little hamlet of Grange. A scene 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 15d 

SO perfectly picturesque, considering all its accom- 
paniments, I think I never beheld. The cots were 
clustered on the margin of a softly flowing current 
whose waters were clear to transparency. A group 
of aged pines threw their dark shadows over them ; 
•—a few yards distant, an old bridge partly dilapidat- 
ed, but which aided admirably the effect of the land- 
scape, connected the opposite banks of the little 
river; around the hamlet were several neatly trim- 
med gardens ; — and far down the valley extended a 
succession of rich pastures and fertile meads, where- 
on herds of cattle were straying, and the peasantry 
actively plying their morning labours. The whole 
scene was in harmony : — its features were happily 
blended ; and over the whole there was an air of 
Claude-like softness which was inexpressibly lovely. 
Nothing however could be more striking than the 
contrast which this scene bore to the savage aspect 
of the mountain glens within which I was entering. 
The beautiful and the picturesque soon vanished ; 
and 1 found myself enclosed within a defile hemmed 
on all sides by lofty, precipitous crags, or hills 
scarcely less rugged and bleak. So sudden and en- 
tire was the change that the whole seemed the ef- 
fect of magic. The impression moreover made by 
the objects a little before witnessed remaining fresh 
and vivid, and the path which I was pursuing, con- 
tinuing to wind among fells and passes, the features 
of which at every step became wilder, — 1 could not 
help looking back in recollection upon the dale 



J6<> EXCURSION FROM 

of Grange, with some such feelings as Mirzah 
must have gazed upon the happy abodes of the 
blest. — The comparison indeed failed most in the 
objects which immediately surrounded me ; for if 
the mountains of Bagdad are as sterile as those of 
Borrowdale, that, forsooth, must have been a moody 
fancy which induced a contemplatist to select them 
as the scene of devotional meditations. 

The Fells of Borrowdale are singularly precipi- 
tous and abrupt. They crowd too so much upon one 
another that the defiles which separate them are 
very narrow, and greatly obstructed with the rocky 
fragments which often fall from the neighbouring 
acclivities. The mountains being chiefly composed 
of slate, at least in their external structure, splinters 
and indeed heavy masses are easily disintegrated ; 
and the ravages committed in their descent are 
sometimes very terrible. 

Their summits and sides are mostly bare, and 
exhibit only here and there a tinge of green : — a 
few blades of grass perhaps, or a patch of stinted 
heath. — The birch however, as usual, persists in as- 
serting his claim to the scanty soil which is left : — and 
it was curious to see a fearless little sapling, among 
some of the topmost crags, where only the eagle 
would build her aerie — thrusting its slender branches 
through the yawning clefts, and waving sportingly in 
the wind. 

With difficulty I clambered an eminence, near an 
high steep called Castle crag, and sheltering myself 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 16i 

from the wind under a ledge of rocks, contemplated 
for some time the scene around ; and the impressions 
which it has left upon my mind can never be erased. 
The clouds which had previously lowered seemed 
to assume an angrier cast, and threw a peculiar 
gloom over every object. The wind swept through 
the crags in hoarse sullen murmurs ; — above, an ea- 
gle was sailing round a cliff, and occasionally pierc- 
ing the air with its cry ; — near me a mountain stream 
dashed from the rocks, and rushed furiously into a ra- 
vine beneath ; — not the slightest trace of a hu- 
man habitation, nor in fact, of a human foot-step, 
(excepting along the half-beaten tract by which I had 
entered the pass,) appeared, on any side ; — even the 
sheep which had been seen browsing on Skiddaw, 
and near the feet of Helvellyn, had deserted this 
frightful waste, and the whole seemed condemned to 
sterility, and designed as the very seat of desola- 
tion. The scene was one on which the genius of 
Salvator might have loved to riot, — but for myself, 
were it possible, I should prefer to contemplate it 
when transferred to the canvass, than again behold it 
in its native wildness and deformity. — In fact, my feel- 
ings were never so powerfully affected by any scene 
before ; and I can truly say that all my imagination 
had ever depicted of the sublime in natural objects 
fell short of what I now saw and/e/t. What impres- 
sion indeed, an alpine scene would excite, as yet I 
know not ; but that scene must be awfully grand 
which can swyass in effect the solemn wildness 

14* 



162 EXCURSION FROM 

which reigns over this pass and the surrounding fells 
of Borrovvdale.* 

* The little which I have since viewed has not induced me to 
substract a single iota from the above description, and that given 
in a former page, of the impressions naturally produced by a 
view of the mountain scenery of Keswick, and its environs. It 
possesses a character perfectly distinctive and ' sui generis ;' 
and although differing in expression is nowise inferior in effect 
to many of the stronger features of the alpine landscape. — 
There is such a thing as having too much of mountain ; and I 
refer to any traveller who has visited the Vale of Chamounifor 
the truth of this remark. As seen from there, Mont Blanc and 
his imperial brotherhood appear inordinately and disproportiona- 
fely huge ; — and the reason obviously is, that while they are thus 
immensely enlarged, the other objects in their neighbourhood 
retain their natural dimensions, and consequently exhibit a con- 
trast which borders not a little on the ludicrous. — The river Arve 
though respectable enough in itself, seems nothing more than a 
paltry brook : — the tall firs which wave upon the acclivities of the 
mountains dwindle into insignificant shrubs ; — the valley of 
Chamouni narrows into a Scottish glen : — and the town in the 
centre, a short distance off, has the appearance of a group of 
martin boxes. 

But, in remarking in general upon the disappointing effect of 
Alpine scenery, I wish to be understood as excepting the vale and 
neighbourhood of Geneva. No view on earth perhaps, can rival 
the combined beauty and grandeur of the latter, as displayed 
from Mont St. Claude on the Jura ; — and this precisely for the 
reason that every object properly harmonises for the effect of the 
whole perspective. I never can forget the impression produced 
upon me, when from that summat, the valley with its stupendous 
girdle of mountains was first descried. Just then the declining 
sun was gilding tlie distant glaciers of the Alps. Mont Blanc and 
Mont Rosa were sufficiently removed to bear a due proportion to 
the surrounding object?. The nearer Alps matched perfectly 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 163 

Descending the hill, I prepared to retrace my 
steps, — satisfied with what I had seen of Borrow- 
dale's mountains and defiles. A second view of the 
dale and hamlet of Grange confirmed the impres- 
sions which its beauty had before excited. Near 
the edge of it I passed a peasant cutting peats ; — a 
fuel however which he said is little used by the vil- 
lagers or any of the neighbouring inhabitants. Coals 
and wood are chiefly burnt; — and are preferred 
both for cheapness and usefulness. 

Near the town of Keswick, I was met by a buxom 
damsel who, with a face tinged with a bloom which 
Hebe might have envied, came bounding along, 
skipping a slack rope, and showing more of her legs 
in the exercise than comported with the most femi- 
nine modesty : — her hose I would have said, but this 
would have been a licence of speech on a par with 
a Highlander's knee-buckle. She paused on my pas- 
sing, and dropt her head to conceal, as I thought, a 
blush ; — but, in this I was doubtless mistaken, for a 
moment after, she commenced again with an agihty 
which would have done honour to Harlequin. 

^vith the valley beneath ; which latter throughout its extent was 
embellished with tints of the richest magnificence ; whilst the 
lake, stretching to an immense distance, till lost in the mountains 
of the Vallais and the Pays de Vaud, resembled, at the height! 
viewed it, a broad majestic river. — Ovid's — 

Speluncae, vivique lacus, et Tempe amocna, — 
would have expressed well a part of the scene; but better, tf 

coupled with, 

Nubiferi Monies, et saxa rainantia coelo. 



164 EXCURSION FROM 

The public clock was striking eleven as I entere d 
Keswick. The many satisfactions which I had ex- 
perienced on my ramble rendered me in some de- 
gree insensible to its length and fatigue ; but on the 
• whole I was nowise unwilling to take up for a while 
with other enjoyments, and suspend the gratification 
of gazing upon valleys and rocks and mountains for 
the substantial comforts and refreshing shelter of the 
^ Royal Oak.' 

I had resolved yesterday upon ascending Helvel* 
lyn to-day should I have ascertained the attempt to 
be practicable ; — but it is represented as attended 
with so much danger and labour, particularly at this 
season of the year, that I have abandoned the 
thought entirely. The chief difficulty is in the 
heavy clouds, which often suddenly come over its 
summit, rendering a safe return almost impossible. 
A year or two ago, a strong experienced young 
man, well acquainted with the mountain, attempted 
a journey over it, and being overtaken in this man- 
ner, was unable to find his way down and perished. 
The justice of these representations I saw signally 
exemplified, on leaving the pass of Borrowdale. 
Thick mists suddenly rolled over the heights which 
I had just left, and in a few minutes completely con- 
cealed their summits. What enhances the danger 
in such an extremity is the number of precipices 
which occur at irregular intervals, down which a 
person is liable to fall, without being apprised a mo- 
ment before of his danger. 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 165 

To one contemplating the effect at a distance, 
there is something strikingly grand in the appea- 
rance which these clouds exhibit when investing the 
mountain tops. The face of the heavens has been 
seldom free from them during any part of the 
day ; — and in returning from my morning's walk, I 
often lingered to behold them sweeping majestical- 
ly along, and throwing their loose aerial drapery 
over the summits of the surrounding mountains. 

But Keswick, as is well known boasts other at- 
tractions than the charms of its landscape. It is dis- 
tinguished by being the residence of Mr. S. the poet 
laureat ; and a fitter place for wooing the ' coy 
muse,' he could not have selected. Her favourite 
Helicon did not offer a better. — This gentleman is 
chief of a trio who constitute what is termed the 
Lake school of Poetry : — their different but equally 
eccentric tastes, and brilhant powers of mind hav- 
ing introduced and given celebrity to, an order of 
composition of a peculiar and novel character. I 
had anticipated the satisfaction of a personal inter- 
view with Mr S. ; but on arriving in Keswick, was 
disappointed in learning that he was absent in Lon- 
don on the famous ' Wat Tyler' affair. 

PENRITH, 10 p. M, 

At one o'clock in company with a Swedish tra- 
veller, I left Keswick for this place distant eighteen 
miles. Two miles from the former on the summit 
of a hill near the road, we stopped to examine a 
Druidical remam. It is of an oval form ; the great' 



166 EXCURSION FROM 

est diameter being about 150 feet in length. The 
stones which compose the figure are chiefly stand- 
ing ; they are ranged at some distance apart, and 
are about six feet above the ground. It is probable, 
however, that they have sunk considerably, owing 
to their weight, and the long period in which they 
have remained in their present position. In the 
centre of the circle is a clump of small larches ; and 
on one side is a massive flat stone, which an anti- 
quary would doubtless have pointed out as the old 
altar. Instead, however, of the ferocious priests 
who once celebrated thereon the rites of their hor- 
rid superstition, and fattened the soil around with 
the blood of human victims, the only living crea- 
tures which we saw, on entering the area, were a 
few sheep, that were fieeding peaceably upon the 
green sward. 

Pursuing our route we often looked back upon 
the retiring vale of Keswick. Distance, as it soft- 
ened, seemed to add new loveliness to its features. 
The rich meads of Newdale and St. Johnsdale, 
which next appeared,- — watered by the hmpid Greta, 
pleased us very much. Saddleback, a huge mis- 
hapen lump of a mountain, soon came in sight. 
Though possessing little beauty in its general as- 
pect, in point of magnitude it jields to none of the 
English mountains, with the exception of Helvellyn. 
Our road conducted us along its base. Near 
Threlkeld, we noticed the effects of the bursting 
of a surcharged thunder-cloud : — the water having 
committed frightful ravages in its descent into the 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 167 

valley. Approaching Penrith we traversed some 
extensive downs ; covered, as usual, by fine flocks 
of sheep. Saddleback, as we receded from it, 
looked bolder than on a first view. Its top is nak* 
ed, a circumstance which rather adds to its gran- 
deur, instead of diminishing it. It shows more dis- 
tinctly its outline ; and in one or two points of 
view discloses with tolerably good effect the stu- 
pendous masses of rocks which crown its summit. 

Near the town of Penrith are the extensive ruins 
of a castle. It is constructed of red free stone, 
which, a short distance off, resembles brick. Its 
appearance, of course, is very indifferent ; and it 
is destitute moreover of ivy, moss and other usual 
mourning habiliments of English Castle ruins. — To 
an American, the frequency of these ruins is truly 
astonishing. England especially abounds with them ; 
and wherever the traveller goes, he is sure to 
meet with them. Sometimes, and particularly in 
certain stages of decay, they greatly embellish the 
landscape. Abbey ruins also, are occasionally seen ; 
and they form a feature entirely distinct, but equal- 
ly picturesque with the former. An American, 
however, whatever satisfaction there may be to the 
eye, in surveying these objects, has little reason to 
regret the want of them in his own country. They 
are all the mournful monuments of the mutations of 
human prosperity ; — and many of them to an English- 
man, are standing remembrancers of events which he 
would gladly consign to oblivion. — The finest of these 



168 EXCURSION FROM 

ruins, whether castle or abbey, which the tourist 
meets with in his rambles through this country, he 
owes to the violence of the two most tyrannic ru- 
lers, who ever governed England ; — the former to 
the cannon of Cromwell, and the latter to the rapa- 
city of Henry 8th. 

Penrith is rather a mean-looking town. The 
red freestone of which its houses are built, gives 
it a dingy and disagreeable appearance ; although 
it answers better for houses than for castles. It is 
an ancient town, and was formerly claimed and 
held by the Scots. The English however, at 
length succeeded, not only in disputing their title 
to it, but in removing their border thirty miles fur- 
ther north. 

The river Emont flows a short distance from the 
town. While dinner was preparing I walked to it, 
and visited also the frontier village of Westmore- 
land ; — the river forming the boundary line here 
between the counties of Cumberland and W. On 
the north bank of the Emont are two spacious caves, 
of narrow and difficult entrance, dug from the solid 
rock, — which it is supposed were intended as places of 
safety during the incursions of the Scots. However 
this may be, the latter also have found it convenient 
to avail themselves of similar precautions in times of 
English invasions. Not long since, visiting the do- 
main of Roslin, I explored three caverns which have 
been excavated with incredible labour, from a rock 
which overhangs the north Esk, about a mile distant 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 16» 

from the castle. The largest is ninety feet long, 
and communicates with the other caves ; the outer 
entrance being from the face of the rock towards 
the river by a ladder which was drawn up and let 
down at pleasure. Those caverns, it is reported, 
have often afforded shelter to the family and weaker 
tenantry of Roslin. — Happy it is for the cause of 
humanity, as well as for the interests of the two 
kingdoms, that neither these, nor other mutual de- 
fences are requisite for the security of their respec- 
tive inhabitants ; — that one common throb of nation- 
al feeling beats responsive in every bosom ; — and 
that the stranger now searches uncertainly for the 
border line, which formerly was traced in blood from 
Berwick bay to the Frith of Solway. 

HAWICK, MAY, 6tH. 

Adjoining Penrith, is an high hill which com- ' 
mands an excellent view of the country, for a 
wide circuit. The morning proving uncommonly 
clear, I was induced at an early hour to ascend it, 
and was amply repaid for the exertion. The hill 
stands within a park, or rather, chase, belonging to 
the Earl of Lonsdale. Formerly, it served as a 
look-out, and was a very important station for that 
purpose. On its summit is a watch-tower in almost 
entire preservation. It is constructed with immense- 
ly thick walls, through which are a few loopholes, 
the only inlets of light, excepting at the door -en- 
trance. I noticed on one of the stones the date of 

15 



170 EXCl/RSION FROM 

1719 ; — but its actual erection was probably at a 
much earlier period. Similar towers are found at 
intervals along the whole extent of the Scotch and 
English marches. 

The view from the height embraced no less than 
seven counties ; and on every side was terminated 
by a noble perspective of distant mountains. Cum- 
berland and Westmoreland, with their fertile and 
picturesque tracts, were spread beneath ; — beyond, 
extended Lancaster and a part of Yorkshire ; — in the 
east appeared the blue heights of Northumberland 
and Durham ; and far in the north, the Cheviot 
Hills of Scotland. The latter I hailed with peculiar 
satisfaction ; for they seem to be my own ; — and to 
Caledonia I turned with something at least of the 
affection of a step-son. 

Among the nearer objects in the landscape it gave 
me pleasure to distinguish Ulswater ; — which next 
to Keswick, is reputed to be the prettiest of all the 
pretty lakes in this romantic region. I had looked for 
it last evening, but was prevented from discerning 
it, by a mist which hung over its surface. It was 
now plainly perceptible throughout its extent ; — its 
' deep line,' including ' promontory, creek and bay,' 
being marked with singular precision ; and its 
waters, under the radiance of the morning sun, pre- 
senting ' one burnished sheet of living gold.' 

At eight o'clock, 1 left Penrith in the stage coach 
for Hawick, a journey of sixty miles. Between P. 
and Carlisle the country presented few objects of 
attention. In general, its face was diversified with 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 171 

rich, long swells, mostly well cultivated. A few 
patches of woodland appeared, and our road lay 
through Inglewood Forest, so called : a tract, how- 
ever, which little deserves the appellation. I was 
rather pleased than otherwise with the first view 
of Carlisle. Several large public buildings, which 
have recently been erected, contribute to mod- 
ernise somewhat its appearance : but still it looks 
very old, as it is. Formerly, it was strongly fortified ; 
—but its walls, excepting on one side, are in a state 
of decay. The portion which remains is used by 
the proprietors of the neighbouring soil as a garden 
wall; and the fruit trees which they have trained 
against it, thrive uncommonly well. The castle also 
which anciently was a fortress of great strength, is at 
present going fast to ruin. Only a part of it is kept 
in tolerable repair, and that for the accommodation 
of a few soldiers who are appointed to garrison it. 

As the coach was delayed an hour at Carlisle, I 
employed the interval in visiting this castle ; — and a 
more venerable and imposing pile is hardly to be 
met with in Great Britian. It forms one great quad- 
rangle, the outer circuit of its walls being not less 
than half a mile. The inclosed area is now covered 
with a turf of the liveliest verdure ; — so fresh and 
smooth that no bowling green in England can surpass 
it in beauty. The matted ivy is seen creeping over 
its wall in the wildest luxuriance, as if to conceal the 
ravages which time and the tempest are continually 
augmenting ; and along its ramparts the rank grast 
grows profusely, interspersed with numberless wall- 



172 EXCURSION FROM 

flowers, which are now in perfection and exhale the 
choicest fragrance. The castle, with a citadel which 
was recently standing, was built by William Rufus ; 
and during the repairs which it has undergone at 
successive periods since, the original plan of its con- 
struction has in most respects been adhered to. — Of 
the many transactions which mark its long and event- 
ful history, one of the most painful and interesting, is 
the confinement within its walls, of the unhappy 
Mary, Queen of Scots. I looked into the apartments 
which she occupied. They are in a round tower, 
which, though partly dilapidated, has not suffered so 
much as other portions of the castle. Some lumber 
and a few pieces of rude furniture are ranged around 
them ; and the walls and floor are thickly covered 
with cobwebs and dust. From the battlements of 
the tower a view is obtained of the hills of Dumfrie- 
shire in Scotland ; — objects the sight of which must 
have administered little comfort to the captive, ill 
fated Queen. The ancient keep of the castle re- 
mains, and a well of great depth is also shown, the 
work, as it is supposed, of the Romans. 

Returning from the castle I visited the cathedral, a 
venerable structure, partly of Saracenic and partly of 
Gothic architecture. On the screens in the aisles, I no- 
ticed some singular and amusing legendary paintings of 
St. Augustine and St. Anthony, with a doggerel distich 
attached to each. Turning from these, I sought the 
tomb of Paley ; but I sought it in vain among the 
' storied urns and animated busts,' which were rang- 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 173 

ed ostentatiously along the aisles and transepts of the 
cathedral. ' But is there no monument to Paley?' 
inquired I, of the verger who attended me. — 'His 
ashes are under you,' he repHed, and in truth they 
were. Stepping aside I traced on a plain grey slab 
in the pavement on which 1 had been standing, this 
simple inscription ; — ' Here lie interred the remains 
of Wm. Paley, D. D., who died May 25th, 1805, 
aged 62 years. '-—This imperfect memorial is all that 
marks the spot, which is consecrated by the mortal 
remains of one of the purest Christians, and soundest 
philosophers of his age and country. His works 
however survive him ; — and they will abide an im- 
perishable record of his worth j — 



monumentum, 



Quod non imber edax, non Aquilo impotens 
Possit diiuere, aut innunnerabilis 
Annorum series, et fuga temporum. 

A monument, which 

Nor 3'-ears though numberless the train, 
Nor flight of seasons, wasting rain. 
Nor winds, that loud in tempest break, 
Shall e'er its firm foundation shake. 

Francis' Hor : 

The famous Roman wall which was built from sea 
to sea, passed within a quarter of a mile of Carlisle. 
It is said that the city owes its name to this circum- 
stance ; Carhsle being compounded of the Saxon 
words caer lyell^ which mean a city near a wall. Re- 
mains of this stupendous work are very perceptible 

in the neighbourhood. 

15* . 



174- EXCURSION FROM 

Leaving' Carlisle, another stage brought us io 
Longtown, a frontier town, where we stopped to 
dine. Four miles further, we entered Scotland, at 
a place called the Scots Dyke ; — leaving Gretna 
Green, of hymeneal memory, at a little distance on 
our left. The stage to Langholm was delightful; — 
the road leading along the romantic windings of 
Esk-daie, and crossing its pretty river some five or six 
times in the course of as many miles. What added 
to its interest, was the circumstance of its traversing 
the scene of Lady Heron's song in Marmion. Ne- 
therby Hall was passed, a little way to our 
right : after which we entered on Canobie Lea 
whereon was the ' racing and chasing,' when the 
fair Ellen eloped with young lord Lochinvar. It 
was impossible also to forget the renowned Johnny 
Armstrong, in viewing spots rendered memorable 
by his exploits ; — and approaching Langholm, 1 did 
not fail to look out for Hallows Tower, formerly the 
residence of this redoubtable hero. 

Near Mosspaul, we crossed a ridge of land which 
separates the waters that flow east and west. The 
Esk had left us at Langholm ; but it sent on a little 
branch which accompanied us a few miles and strug- 
gled hard, though in vain, to hold out further. Its 
loss however was not long perceived, — for soon ano- 
ther rill was seen purlmg by the way side, and pur- 
suing an opposite direction. This was the Teviot, 
just in the commencement of its career. 1 had be- 
held the stream only once before, and then at Kelso, 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 175 

where it mingles its waters with the Tweed. Its 
appearance there was very respectable ; — and con- 
trasting it with its present infantile aspect, it would 
have required a rare degree of physiognomical skill 
to have traced any resemblance in its features, or 
other marks of its identity. This stream gives name 
to one of the most romantic dales in Scotland, and 
after dispensing fertility and beauty throughout its 
own course, and swelling not a little the waters of 
the Tweed, at length enters the sea by an outlet, an 
hundred miles distant from the mouth of the Esk. 

Before reaching Hawick, we crossed the Teviot 
two or three times. The last was by Branxholm 
bridge ; — the road a little before having passed 
within a few yards of Branxholm castle, or more 
properly, house. This is the Branksome of Walter 
Scott. Its situation he has well described ; being, 
as he says, ' upon a steep bank, surrounded by the 
Teviot, and flanked by a deep ravine, formed by a 
precipitous brook.' In point of size, it must have 
been greatly reduced since the days of Margaret of 
Branksome ; and the various alterations which it has 
undergone have left it little of the castellated form, 
excepting one square, massive tower. It still, how- 
ever, is a spacious structure, having much of com- 
fort, though nothing of elegance in its appearance. 

Opposite to Branxholm is a hill which the poet's 
fancy has marvellously magnified into a mountain. 
It is the same which he introduces as conferring 
witli ' Teviot's tide,' in that whimsical colloquy be- 



176 EXCURSION FROM 

tween the river and mountain spirits described in the 
First Canto to the ' Lay.' 

On the borders of the barony we beheld the con- 
fluence of the Borthwick and Teviot waters. — 
Leaving this, we passed Goldiland ruins ; — and a 
ride of two miles more brought us, late in the even- 
ing, to Hawick. 

May 1th. — At an early hour, the coach was again 
on the road. The morning light shewed imperfect- 
ly, as we drove from Hawick, an artificial eminence 
which Scott refers to, as 



tjjg moathiirs mound 

Where Druid forms once flitted round. 

It is conjectured to be a remain of Celtic antiquity ; 
and, if so, was probably a place of rendezvous for 
general councils from the adjacent clans. Similar 
heaps are not infrequent in north Britain. Ap- 
proaching Selkirk, we crossed Philiphaugh, memo- 
rable as the battle ground between the parliament 
forces and those of king Charles, when the latter 
under lord Dundee were routed after a short but 
very bloody action. 

A little beyond Selkirk, we came in sight of Et- 
trick, another of those classic streams which are the 
pride of the Lowlands. We next entered Tweed- 
dale and drove for some miles along it, crossing the 
river in two places. Of the streams which subse* 
quently met us, were the Gala, Lugate and Heriot 



EDINBURGH TO DUBLIN. 177 

Waters,* which contributed much to vary and beau- 
tify the landscape. 

Our road at length brought us to Half Law Kiln ; 
— a place which the Romans are said to have occu- 
pied, as a military station. Traces of a camp, I 
was told^ are very visible : — but not having Monk- 
barns at my side, nor his ' Essay of Castrametation' 
in my hands, I was not so fortunate as to distinguish 
them. Shortly, however, a more interesting ob- 
ject appeared. This was Borthwick Castle, for- 
merly a princely fabric, and venerable in decay. 
Once, it was a place of shelter to injured royalty, 
and opened its gates to Queen Mary after the battle 
of Carberry Hill ; and once too, its walls imprison- 
ed the same princess when Bothwell succeeded in 
intercepting her on her route from Dumbarton. 

From this place during the remaining twelve 
miles of the journey, every object showed that we 
were approaching the proud metropolis of the north. 
— Cots and farm-houses, lodges and mansions, ham- 
lets and villages crowded the landscape in every di- 
rection. Passengers also on horse and foot, and 
carriages of various descriptions, — post-chaises, gigs, 
sociables, baro.uches, — began to throng the way. 
Descending Dalkeith hill, we entered Mid Lothian, 
the garden of Edinburgh ; and to me its fertile fields 

* The Scotch apply the term Water, to express a second- 
rate stream : a third-rate, they call Burn ; as Leith Water, Ban- 
UQck Burn. 



178 EXCURSION TO DUBLIN. . 

and green parks and lordly manors seemed arrayed 
in new beauty. At length, Arthur's Seat was des- 
cried towering above the ' Gude Town ;' and to the 
left, appeared the grey ramparts of the castle. A 
nearer approach discovered Nelson's column crown- 
ing the summit of Calton : — St. Andrew's spire, and 
the towers ol St. Giles and the Tron next peered 
through the surrounding haze ; and last, though not 
least, the turrets of Holyrood glanced on the eye as 
the coach drove into a suburb of the city. Emerg- 
ing from the Old Town, we entered on the magnifi- 
cent bridge which connects it with the New, and 
soon arrived in front of the Register office. Here I 
alighted, and having found a porter, proceeded on 
foot along Prince's street. A turn to the right 
brought me further into the centre of the city ; and 
after a minute's walk, I had the satisfaction of re-en- 
tering my lodgings at the corner of north Hanover 
and George Streets. 



WAa^ s® M®aTm®®m 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 



One of the first objects which claim the attention of 
the stranger in Edinburgh, is Holvrood-house. This 
structure, renowned as it is in the annals of Scottish 
story, I was not long in searching out after my arri- 
val in the city, and often in an evening walk, have I 
since found myself insensibly bending my way thi- 
ther, when it was difficult to define the impulse 
which prompted the direction of my steps. The 
connection of the name of the unhappy Queen Mary, 
with a few of the memorable events which its walls 
have witnessed, has doubtless had no little influence 
in deepening the interest with which I have contem- 
plated this venerable pile ; but the emotions whxh 
the sight of any monument of a remote and eventful 
age, either awakens, or is at least calculated to 
awaken, in the mind, are various in character, and 
naturally impressive and solemn. 

The main body, indeed, of Holyrood-house is not 
very ancient. Its erection cannot be traced back to 
an earlier date than the reign of Charles II. Origi- 
nally, it was a far more spacious and princely fabric, 
than at present it is ; but, what with the decays of 
1« 



182 WALK TO HOLYROOD. 

age, the fires of incendiaries, and the violences of in- 
furiated mobs, it has suffered numerous changes in 
the lapse of ages ; and though still a stately edifice, 
is circumscribed very materially in extent compared 
with its primitive limits. 

At the northwest angle are double circular towers, 
remaining in entire preservation, wherein are seve- 
ral apartments and state-rooms which James V. 
caused to be constructed, and which were occupied 
as part of the royal habitation, both during his reign, 
and that of his successor. His name is still to be 
seen in a niche under one of the turrets ; and this 
part of the building is all of it which has come down 
from so remote a period to the present, uninjured. 

The entrance is through an embattled gate-way, 
which in its style displays some magnificence, and 
communicates with a large area, two hundred and 
thirty feet square, which is enclosed on each side 
with the palace walls. A range of piazzas, 
or more strictly a continued facade, supported by 
Doric pillars, is built along the basement story which 
affords a kind of cloistered walk quite round the in- 
teriour of the pile. 

I cannot easily forget the impressions made upoti 
me, on my first visit to this lordly structure. As I 
entered the gateway, leading to the inner court, I 
passed a sentry, — a fine, manly fellow,— who was 
dressed in the full costume of the highland military. 
His tall bonnet and plume added much to his martial 
air and aspect ; nor was the effect diminished hy the 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 183 

Celtic accompaniments of tartan hose, a plaid kilt 
and naked knee. Above him, on the front wall of 
the portal, were carved the crown, thistle, and other 
appendages of the arms of Scotland; under which 
was emblazoned the proud motto, JVemo me impune 
lacessit. 

A janitor attended me to the quarters of an elderly, 
splenetic lady, who undertook, though with an ill- 
grace which the expected boon of a half-crown was 
not sufficient to repress, to conduct me through those 
apartments in the building which are most worthy of 
inspection. 

I was first taken to a large hall in which the Scot- 
tish peers are wont to convene when they elect six- 
teen from their number to represent their ' nobility' 
in the British parliament. It is adorned with the 
supposed portraits of all the kings of Scotland ; there 
being more than an hundred heads m the whole, 
most of which are fancy likenesses, or copies taken 
from the imperfect and rude stamps of antique coins. 
I took notice of a full-length portrait of Queen Mary, 
and one of her father James V., — ' the knight of Snow- 
don,' — each of which was originally well executed, 
but the colours have faded, and the paintings have 
otherwise been much injured. * 

It was doubtless invidious, not to say uncourteous, 
to mark the contrast, — which however was too pal- 
pable to escape observation, — ^between the features 
of the lovely Scottish princess, even amidst the 
shading and disguise of a defaced and dusty portrait, 
and the sallow countenance of my lady attendant, 



184 WALK TO HOLYROOD. 

the expression of which seemed to assume new 
odiousness when confronted before beauty of such 
matchless grace. I know not what unlucky associa- 
tion brought to mind at that moment Ovid's whimsi- 
cal personification of Envy ; but as my eye glanced 
on the sour aspect and wrinkled visage of the moody 
dame by my side, who seemed to blench and wither 
under the peerless charms of Mary, I could not resist 
the temptation to apply to her with some slight 
alteration the sententious lines, 

Pallor in ore sedet ; macies in corpore toto ; 
JN'usquam recta acies ; 



intabescit que videndo 



Formosam Mariam. 



My conductress was hurrying me away to some of 
the more modern apartments of the palace when I 
intimated that further attentions would be excused, 
provided I was shewn the rooms in the circular tow- 
ers which were once occupied by the Queen. She 
accordingly led the way to a flight of steps which 
communicated with an antichamber on the second 
floor, — the same into which Rizzio was dragged 
when he received his final, mortal wounds. Some 
dusky spots on the floor were pointed out, which 
were said to be stains of his blood. — A few drops 
of lamp-oil from time to time judiciously dropped 
there, would produce a similar appearance, and 
perhaps afford vouchers of the sanguinary deed 
equally indisputable with the marks now discernible. 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 185 

Leaving the anti-room, I entered a larger apart- 
ment, or hall, hung round with tapestry much de- 
faced. This was queen Mary's chamber of state. 
From the walls were suspended a few portraits and 
engravings, most of which were of very ordinary ex- 
ecution. On one side stood a bed which formerly 
might have had some claims to be reputed fine ,- 
but it makes, at this day, a sorry appearance. There 
were many chairs with richly embroidered seats, 
ranged round the apartment, which also are going 
fast to decay. One of these, which was of a costlier 
construction than the others, and made somewhat in 
the style of a modern loUing-chair, though conside- 
rably wider, was said to be the chair on which the 
reigning king and queen of Scotland used to sit side 
by side on state occasions. Passing from this apart' 
ment, I next entered the private chamber of Mary, 
which was smaller than the former, and furnished in 
an inferiour style. The bed was in a condition 
scarcely better than the one first seen. It is of 
tattered crimson damask, the hangings of which are 
trimmed with a selvage of green fringes and tassels. 

In a corner of the room, on a small table, was 
placed the Queen's favourite work-box. It is made 
of thin deal, covered on the top and sides with fine 
cloth, which is ornamented with fancy needle-work. 
This last was wrought by Mary when in France ; 
and is curious as a specimen of her ingenuity. The 
chief subject was Jacob's dream of the ladder, with 
the descent of the angels upon it. Both the figure 

16 * 



186 WALK TO HOLY ROOD. 

and attitude of the sleeping patriarch were rather 
comical ; but the whole performance was well 
enough, considering that it was executed by a royal 
Miss in her early teens,— and that too, in the middle 
of the 16th century. 

The box is divided into a number of compartments 
which still retain some of the trinkets of the Queen. 
It is lined within with crimson silk ; under which is 
a stuffing of cotton. When the box was opened for 
my inspection, a rich perfume exhaled from it, 
which my fair conductress asserted in good faith, to 
have been the reported fact, ever since it was in the 
possession of the Queen ; — and that it originated from 
some fragrant substance, deposited within the cotton 
xmder the silk lining. 

Opposite the entrance, on a circular side of the 
chamber, are two doors ; of which the one 
on the left conducted to her dressing-room, and 
the other to a small cabinet answering to a French 
boudoir, and which was appropriated by the 
Queen as such. It was in this apartment that 
she was supping with Rizzio, when Lord Darnley 
with his associate assassins entered for the purpose 
of taking the life of that favourite. The conspira- 
tors ascended to the royal apartments by a back spi- 
ral staircase, at the top of which was a door in the 
wainscoat, concealed inside by tapestry, which open- 
ed into the chamber within a ^e.w feet of the smaller 
private room. In the latter, I saw the armour boots 
and gloves of Darnley, which are of immoderate 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 187 

size, and prove him to have possessed a stature of 
body somewhat proportionate to the gigantic villany 
of his mind. 

Before leaving the suite of rooms I had the tapes- 
try in the inner chamber removed from the wains- 
coat, which is connected with the trap-stair already 
spoken of The leaf is ingenious ; and its purpose 
not easy to be detected. The passage descending 
from it is singularly gloomy, and the steps at no 
great depth are lost in darkness. 

It is remarkable that this stair terminates in the 
chapel of Holyrood ; and that the assassins of Rizzio 
must have passed through that sanctuary in order to 
have reached the scene of their intended villany. 
In fact, all the circumstances connected with the 
perpetration of this foul deed mark an astonishing 
pitch of daring, as well as coolness of atrocity. 

Among the accomplices in the murder of Rizzio, 
was no less a personage than the Lord High Chan- 
cellor of Scotland. He even assumed the conduct 
and superintendence of the enterprize, — although 
undertaken in open violation of the laws both of God 
and man ; and all this moreover, in the very pre^ 
sence of his sovereign. 

There is a curious and minute account of the 
whole of this bloody transaction preserved in a let- 
ter which was written immediately subsequently to 
the event by the then English resident in Scotland 
to the Lords of the privy council. After detailing a 
Tariety of circumstances too numerous to be extract- 



18« WALK TO HOLYROOD. 

ed, the writer proceeds with adding, that, ' Upon Sa- 
turdaye at nigcht, neire unto vin of the clocke, the 
king, (Darnly) conveyeth himself, the lord Ruthen, 
George Duglass and twa others by the privy stayers 
up to the queene's chamber, going to which is a 
closset about xii foot square : in the same a little 
low reposing bedde and a table at the which theyr 
were sitting at supper the queene, the lady Argile 
and David (Rizzio) with his cappe upon his hed. 
Into the closset theyr cometh in the king, and lord 
Ruthen, who willed David to come forth, saying, 
that was no place for him. The queene saide, that 
it was hur will. Her howsebande answerede that 
y' was against hur honour. The lord Ruthen said, 
that he shoulde lerne better his deutie, and offering 
to take him by the arm, David tooke the queene by 
the blychtes of hur gowne. who wolde gladlee 
have saved him : But the king having loosed his 
hande, and holding hur in his arms, David was 
thrust owt, and throwe the bedchamber into the 
chamber of presens, whar were the lord Morton, 
lord Lindsey, and so mane that bore him ill will 
that one thruste him into the boddie with a dagger, 
and after hym a great mane others, so that he had in 
his boddie above fiftie wonds.' 

In the same letter is related a singular parley 
which took place between the queen and two of the 
conspirators, Darnley and Ruthven, on the occasion 
of Rizzio's murder. To the former she said in a 
tone of high threatening, ' You have ta'en yr last 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 189 

of me and yr farewelle.' — and towards the close of 
the conversation, after much mutual crimination, she 
added, ' Well, that shall be dear blude to some of 
ye, yf his be spylt !" 

Rizzio, it is stated, ' had upon hys back when he 
was slayn a nigcht-gowne of damask furred, with a 
satten doublette, and a hose of russette velvette ;' — 
also, — ' a juill was hanging about hys necke of some 
price yt cannot be hearde of.' 

The tragical end of this man may well excite our 
commiseration ; and a feeling of indignation natu- 
rally arises within us against the remorseless ruf- 
fians who plotted his death. But his fate was scarce- 
ly worse than that of the chief accomplices in his 
murder. In fact the divine vengeance seemed to 
attend them wherever they went, and several of 
them at different times expiated with their blood 
the part which they bore in the slaughter of this 
unhappy foreigner. Darnley himself as is well 
known, perished by the explosion of gunpowder, 
designedly placed under a house in which he lodg- 
ed ; and only a few months after he had glutted his 
deadly hate by rioting in the blood of Rizzio, his 
stormy passions were hushed in death, and the co- 
lossal frame which seemed to mock at the common 
lot of humanity was laid low and motionless, as the 
clods of the valley, under the cloistered pavement 
of the chapel of Holyrood. 

This chapel, or rather what remains of it, is well 
wortliy of attention. Its order is a light Gothic, 



19a WALK TO HOLYROOD. 

is susceptible of a high degree of decoration, 
and the architect seems to have lavished the 
luxuriances of its ornaments upon this noble 
monument of the taste and piety of his age. 
At the time of the revolution, when a protest- 
ant prince ascended the united throne of Scot- 
land and England, and the fanaticism of the follow-" 
ers of John Knox had attained its height, the popu- 
lace of Edinburgh wreaked their vengeance upon 
it, on the ground that popish mass had been cele- 
brated within its walls, and that it was distinguished 
by those carnal appendages of the papal church, — an 
organ, a spire, and a fine chime of bells. The in- 
side of the fabric was almost wholly demolished. 
Its decorations were objects of a peculiarly malig- 
nant resentment ; and many of them were defaced, 
mutilated, or destroyed. Happily the walls were 
left standing : and a colonnade which supported the 
roof over one of the side aisles still remains. A no- 
ble work it is ; — the pillars of which continue to ex- 
hibit an elegance of tracery work in delicate pre- 
servation, despite of the wastes of time and the 
despoiling hand of a fanatical canaille. 

After I had examined the old apartments already 
described, and as much as I wished to see of the 
palace, I devoted some time to the inspection of 
this ruinous fabric. Roofless and dilapidated as it 
is, its aspect is impressive, and it seems to sit in 
sackcloth as though mourning the departure of it§ 
pristine glor^. 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 191 

Beneath its ' lettered stones' is interred some of 
the noblest dust of the Scottish princes. Several 
graves of these puissant mortals were pointed out 
to me, and among them, two or three tombs of the 
Stuarts. As I trod the pavement in quest of these 
depositories of the dead, the sound of the falling 
footstep reverberated from the walls, broke upon 
the wonted silence of the place with an almost 
chilling effect ; and the wind as it swept in hollow 
gusts through the broken arches and along the lone 
and deserted spaces of the chapel ruin, seemed to 
wail a requiem to the sleeping tenants of the tomb, 
whilst it told of the desolation which reigned 
around. 

And how changed, how fallen from its ancient 
grandeur is this consecrated edifice ! Could its walls 
speak, what tales might they utter, what a moral 
would they impress ! Here the congregations of 
many a generation have assembled in the ostensible 
office of devotion, and have successively gone down 
to darkness and to dust, — Here mitred prelates have 
stood to bless, and kings have knelt to worship. 
Here piety has breathed its aspirations ; and peni- 
tence has whispered its confessions ; and fanaticism 
has fanned her fervours. Here the votary of a 
maddening superstition has soared in mystic trances, 
whilst censers have smoked, nnd tapers have gleam- 
ed, and the gorgeous symbols of a mistaken faith 
have struck upon the ravished sense. And here, 



192 WALK TO HOLYROOD. 

too, when the majestic organ has wakened its spirit- 
stirring melody, and the vaulted roof has echoed to 
the swelling chant of voices, — the rapt fancy has 
depicted, in the concerts of earth, a similitude to the 
harmonies of Heaven. But the solemn pageantry 
has vanished ; — its actors are no more : — the light in 
the ' golden candlestick' is quenched ; — the choral 
hymn has ceased, and saving a few imperfect vesti- 
ges, the eye searches in vain within the crumbling 
pile for some memorial of the hallowed rites which 
once were solemnised within it, — some record which 
may attest its former magnificence, and speak an 
' Ilium fuit' 

The chapel itself was originally a monastic 
church, attached to the religious house of Holy- 
rood, — a convent having been founded here as early 
as the commencement of the 12th century. It was 
denominated the Monastery of the Holy Cross, and 
was possessed by some monks of the order of St. 
Augustine, who practising upon the piety, or rather 
the superstitious weaknesses of the princes of the se- 
veral succeeding ages, acquired many privileges for 
the institution, and grants of ample revenues. In 
process of time, it became the richest religious 
foundation in Scotland ; and gave support to a name 
rous fraternity of monks.* 

* There was an estimate made of its revenues in the year 1688, 
which is subjoined for the amusement of the curious reader. 
—•They were computed to amount to 2650 bushels of wheat, 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 193 

At the Reformation, when in common with their 
brethren of other monastic orders, the inmates of 
Holyrood were expelled from their fair demesnes 
and stripped of the wealth which the cupidity of 
earlier generations had amassed, the abbey chapel 
was converted into a parish church, and not a few 
of the privileges appertaining to it in its original 
state were transferred to its new proprietors. Some 
of these have remained untouched to the present 
day, to the no small convenience of those who are 
constrained to seek their benefit. — The environs af- 
ford an asylum from prosecutions for debt ; as also 
does an extensive park adjacent to the abbey ; — and 
bankrupts have only to take up their quarters with- 
in the privileged precinct to defy the whole power 
and mahce of their creditors, even backed by the long 
arm of the civil law. Around the court, immediate- 
ly in front of Holyrood-house, is a range of small 
tenements, erected expressly for the accommoda- 
tion of insolvent debtors, who, safe in the inviolate 
sanctity of the retreat, pursue, without fear of mo- 
lestation, their ordinary occupations. Nor is this 
their only privilege. On the sabbath they are at 
liberty to walk abroad beyond the abbey limits, and 
to appear with impunity in any part of the city or 

3360 bushels of oats, nearly 4000 bushels of barley ; 500 capons, 
24 hois, as many salmon, twelve loads of salt, together with a 
considerable number of swine, and about 250/. sterling, iu 
cash. 

17 



194 WALK TO HOLYROOD. 

suburbs, at all hours between the rising and the set- 
ting of the sun. 

After the dethronement of Louis XVI., when se- 
veral of the surviving Bourbons sought refuge in 
Scotland, and were lodged for a season in the pa- 
lace of Holyrood, prior to their removal to England, 
it is said that the royal exiles were compelled for a 
time, in consequence of a failure of remittances, to 
avail themselves of the ancient immunities of the 
Abbey^ and to avoid trespassing beyond the bounds 
of the Canongate, saving on the returns of the 
sabbath. 

That such an absurd privilege should still be kept 
up, and that too, as a prerogative of a soi-disant mo- 
nastic institution, might excite a smile, if it did not 
provoke a severer feeling. Granting its adaptation 
to the barbarousness of the age wherein it origin- 
ated, — that it should be tolerated, nevertheless, in 
the 19th century, is truly pitiable. The trial by 
ordeal if retained in practice, would be equally ra- 
tional and fitting, on the score of equity. For the 
immunity guaranteed to debtors indiscriminately, be- 
nefits the knavish, no less than the upright. Ac- 
cordingly, it is as likely that the creditor be defraud- 
ed, as that the innocent be sheltered ;— and if the 
honest bankrupt sometimes finds under the shadow 
of the walls of Holyrood a retreat from unfeeling 
persecution, the criminal defaulter as often resorts 
to it, to escape the just application of coercive 
means to compel a restitution of indisputable dues. — 



WALK TO HOLYROOD. 195 

Happy it is, thought I, as I left the spot and retraced 
my steps to the city, — happy it is, that there is one 
country where such hoary reUcs ot a barbarous age 
are unknown; — where customs of doubtful propriety 
are not perpetuated, simply because they are time- 
hallowed ; and where, with a due veneration for the 
institutions of remote periods, there is a ready re- 
jection of all such as are unproductive of positive 
good, or which have nothing to recommend them 
beyond the crust of antiquity. 

Edinburgh, November, 1816. 



T@'WB> Wli at©ll ^Al^ElHS 



AND THE 



GRAMPIANS. 



V-. 



17* 



.^ 



TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 



AND THE 



lASf 



FALKIRK, MAY 29, 1817. 

X HAD taken leave of a friend this morning at the 
door of Macgregor's in Edinburgh, and was entering 
the coach for this place when a cordial, ' How are 
you V from a familiar voice, directed my attention to 
a gentleman occupying a seat in one corner. It was 
Mr. R*****, of Liverpool,* who had been parsing a 
few weeks in the city. He had made his arrange- 
ments to leave it several days ago, on his return to 
England, but circumstances had unexpectedly delay- 
ed his departure hitherto, and he was now on his 
way to Glasgow, with an intention of immediately 
proceeding thence to Liverpool. 

Enquiring my plans of route, Mr. R. expressed re- 
gret that he had not been previously apprised of my 
contemplated journey to the north highlands, as he 
would cheerfully have accompanied me during at 

* Son of the celebrated Biographer of Lorenzo di Medicis. 



200 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

least the greater part of the tour. As circumstances 
were, he decided to go with me as far as the Tro- 
sachs and Loch Lomond, — a resolution which has 
given me great pleasure, as, independently of other 
companionable qualities, his various and entertaining 
conversation, and his extensive knowledge of men 
and things, render him a very desirable fellow-tra- 
veller. 

This negotiation being soon brought to a close, 
we had leisure to observe what was passing with- 
out, — in other words, to perceive that, had our at- 
tention been otherwise engrossed for a much longer 
time, we should have lost nothing of interest until 
our arrival at Linlithgow. The morning it is true, 
proved clear ; — a circumstance which we could not 
refrain noting, as in this region, and at this time of the 
year, it is a phenomenon of rather rare occurrence. 
The peasantry moreover, were actively engaged in 
the fields ; and it required no yankee guess to pre- 
sume that the New England farmer was far from 
being idle, rain or shine. In general however, the 
country appeared in a state of higher cultivation be- 
tween Edinburgh and Linlithgow, than is usually met 
with in districts of like extent in yankee land. It is 
thickly wooded too, — larches, firs, oaks, beeches, 
sycamores, elms and pines, — some of them of great 
size, — appearing in thriving plantations on every 
side. 

At Linlithgow, we left the coach, in order to visit 
the few objects of interest in the immediate vicinity, 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 201 

intending to pursue our journey northward on the 
following" morning. We first walked to the ruins of 
the palace, formerly one of the seats of the kings of 
Scotland, and still retaining marks of its ancient 
splendour. Originally it was a stupendous quadran- 
gular pile, surrounding a spacious area, in the centre 
of which was a magnificent fountain. Fragments of 
the tank remain, and the water itself is pellucid to 
transparency. The architectural order of the palace 
is Saxon. 

Several dates are sculptured on the walls ; one of 
which, — 16 1 9, — I particularly noticed as it led me back 
to the first settlement of my native land.* Two cen- 
turies have not elapsed since the latter event, and in 
the interim, whilst the house of the Stuarts, like this 
palace which they tenanted, has crumbled into dust, 
and the population of Scotland been but slowly aug- 
mented, and its physical resources as slowly deve- 
loped, — an empire of ten millions has arisen beyond 
the Atlantic wave, and in an unexampled ratio is now 
fast ascending to power and renown. Little was 
such a stupendous result anticipated when Linlith- 
gow was last the seat of Scottish royalty ; and little 
were consequences so momentous augured, when 
the bark which bore the first company of pilgrims 
to the northern shores of the new world was per- 
mitted to depart on its lone and adventurous voyage. 
In that feeble band was Carver ; and there too, 

* The precise date of the first settlement in New-EnglanrI, 
was December 22, 1620. 



202 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

were Winslow and Stat^dish and Brewster, names, 
which however then unknown in courts and palaces, 
will go down to the latest ages emblazoned on the 
roll of fame, and each passing year shall add one 
cubit more to the imperishable monument of their 
glory. 

But to return to Linlithgow, or Lithgow^ as the 
word is familiarly pronounced : — In the palace we 
were shown the apartment wherein Mary, queen of 
Scots, was bom ; or rather we were conducted to 
that part of the structure where this apartment once 
was, and where it still would be, but for the almost 
total want of three out of the four walls. This, how- 
ever, is quite as much as the visiter has a right to 
expect in these cases ; at least, so thinks the cicerone, 
who,with an air of importance and gravity bordering 
not a little on the grotesque, would make one believe 
that he is amply compensated for the silver piece 
paid in return, if instead of one whole wsill, rendered 
so memorable as this of Lithgow, a few dilapidated 
moss-covered stones were exhibited. In other parts 
of the pile, a number of rooms, several galleries, and 
two or three of the highest towers remain in good 
preservation. A large tower at the southern angle 
fell about a month ago, and with tremendous vio- 
lence broke through into some vaults and subterra- 
nean passages under the pavement of the court. 
Another hard by, is already partially dislodged, and 
gives awful warning that it is destined soon to com- 



Al\I> THE GRAMPIANS. 203 

plete the work of destruction below, which its com- 
rade has so effectually commenced. 

Adjacent to the palace, stands the old cathedral, 
which is also hastening to decay. I should except, 
however, in this remark, the eastern end which has 
lately been repaired, and is now statedly used as a 
place of religious worship. Among the marvels of 
the cathedral ruins, is a side aisle, which was point- 
ed out to us as the spot where the spectre appeared 
to James IV. and warned him of the fatal defeat 
whicli awaited his arms at Fiodden. The scene of 
interview, we thought, judiciously chosen ; and even 
at this late day, considering all the accompaniments, 
it would answer full as well for another goblin con- 
ference. The aisle is in a recess, sequestered from 
the main body of the building. The little light that 
is admitted, scarcely relieves the gloom, and the 
walls are covered with moss, or rather an incrusta- 
tion of green mould, occasioned by the constant 
dampness of the air. It did not occur to us to in- 
quire whether there had actually been any recent 
spectral appearances on this spot, — especially whe- 
ther the elfin interlocutor of James had held his 
court there of late. Leaving these important par- 
ticulars to be settled by other and more inquisitive 
tourists, I merely add on the subject of these ruins, 
that both the palace and the cathedral, occupy one 
of the best positions imaginable. They crown a 
small eminence that rises gently from the margin of 
a neighbouring lake, of considerable size and great 



204 TOUR TO LOCH KATRIJNE 

beauty. The lawn which slopes to the water side 
is sprinkled with a few trees, which add much to the 
prettiness of the whole scene. 

Having introductory letters to the celebrated 
Dugald Stewart, we next proceeded to his residence, 
which is situated about three miles from Linlithgow, 
not far from the Frith of Forth. But a sad disap- 
pointment awaited us on our arrival at the Lodge, 
where we learnt that Mr. S. with all his family, had 
for some time been absent on a journey to the 
neighbourhood of Montrose. This disappointment, 
we had neither of us prepared our minds for, as 
Mr. S. is understood to be rarely absent from home. 
It is seldom indeed, that he visits Edinburgh, — 
scarcely going there once in a twelvemonth. Stran- 
gers accordingly who seek an introduction to him, 
rarely enjoy that privilege elsewhere, than at his 
own residence ; and there, on being presented to 
him, they are uniformly received with urbanity. 
As respects Mr. R. and myself, all regret on the 
present occasion was unavailing ; and we had to 
submit to the necessity of the case with as good a 
grace as we could assume, which, to be sure, was a 
very ill one. Previously to our return to Linlith- 
gow, we devoted a little time to a walk over the 
grounds attached to the residence of Mr. Stewart. 

Kinniel-House, — the name of this seat, — though 
occupied for a number of years by this great man, is 
in fact the property of the duke of Hamilton. 
It is a stately mansion, spacious, but clumsily con- 



AND THE GRAMPIAN;?. £05 

structed, standing in the centre of a noble park. 
A fine avenue planted with aged trees, leads from 
the lodge to the house. About midway, this path is 
intersected by a clear gurgling brook, the banks of 
which are prettily fringed with coppice and under- 
wood, and the waters dash from the rocks with a 
charming effect. The view from the mansion is 
picturesque, and the whole place is exceedingly 
well adapted for philosophic and literary retirement. 

Returning to Linlithgow, we took a hasty dinner, 
and there being no new objects of interest to attract 
attention, and the afternoon proving mild and clear, 
we determined, instead of waiting till the following 
morning, to proceed on foot, forthwith to Falkirk, 
and to leave our baggage to come after us in the 
evening coach. The distance is about eight miles, 
— the road traversing a fertile and lovely tract of 
country, — which amply rewarded us for the little 
fatigue we were subjected to, on the walk. The 
Forth continued in sight during much of the way. 
Laurieston, a neat and thriving village, occurred on 
the route, besides one or two hamlets. Approach- 
ing Falkirk, the surface of the country became more 
uneven and rugged, and began to swell into hills. 
These gradually incrensed in magnitude as we ad- 
vanced, an;l gave prcsasce that we were drawing 
near to mountainous districts. 

Stirling castle, the ' bulwark of the north,' was 
first descried by us, when we were three or four 
miles distant from Falkirk. It appeared very dis- 

18 



206 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

tinct, and formed a fine feature in the landscape. 
Beyond, and to the north and west of it, were seen 
the summits of an extended chain of mountains, which 
were arrayed in the deepest, loveUest blue. These 
we presumed to constitute a part of the Grampian 
ridge, and they seemed stationed as by the hand of 
nature to serve as an eternal barrier to the territo- 
ries of the Gael. 

Falkirk pleased us very much. It is a bustling 
thriving town, containing eight or nine thousand 
inhabitants. It is not quite so cleanly indeed, as 
could be wished, but however it is better in this 
respect than many other towns in the Lowlands, 
and accordingly pleases the more by contrast. 
There has been a weekly market here to-day. 
The town is filled with country peasantry, tricked 
out in their best attire, and making in general, a 
very decent appearance. These people have an 
eye probably to the Stirling fair, which we under- 
stand will be held to-morrow. We shall probably 
take a peep at the same fair, as we propose leaving 
this place early in the morning, and proceeding 
to Stirling to breakfast. My next date, will be at 

Ardkenacrochkan Farm, May 30. 
I WAS unable to supply the word last night as it 
was doubtful how far we should proceed to-day. At 
a very early hour, Mr. R. and myself left Falkirk in 
a gig for Stirling, a distance of about eleven miles. 
Our equipage was the best which the inn aflforded, 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 207 

and a more sorry affair can scj'.rcely be conceived. 
The horse was one of the most jaded and miserably 
looking animals which were ever harnessed to a thill ; 
and the gig, whatever of convenience and strength 
it m'ffht once have boasted, had become so much 
the worse for the wear, in fact, was so crazy and 
rickety, that we had serious apprehensions that it 
would break down from under us before we had 
quite moved from the yard. But in this we were 
disappointed, — and happily after a journey of three 
hours, we alighted in safety at the Red Lion in Stir- 
ling, considering ourselves fortunate in arriving there 
on any terms. The delay which we thus suffered, 
gave us an opportunity of seeing more fully the fine 
country through which we passed ; but as for admir- 
ing it, that was out of the question. And here le- 
me mention, what the experience of every traveller 
will confirm, that there is the widest difference be- 
tween the actual seeing^ and the fancying objects and 
things at a distance. In the latter case, mere asso- 
ciation predominates, unalloyed by personal ^ee/iwg-. 
The reader of a traveller's journal or diary, is 
disposed to think that every thing is gold which 
glitters. When he peruses a florid discription of the 
beauties of a foreign scene, he does not take into the 
account, the inconvenience and vexation of miserable 
horses, and worse vehicles, and muddy roads, — to say 
nothing of now and then a surly innkeeper, or some 
easily-besetting sharper. It does not occur to him 
whilst sitting at his ease in his own parlour, by his 



208 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

comfortable fire-side, leisurely turning over the 
leaves of an itinerary, of the thousand nameless ills to 
which the traveller has been heir during the sojourn- 
ings which that itinerary records ; — how he has been 
made to encounter, perhaps, the peltings of a mer- 
ciless storm, — the drippings of a searching Scotch 
mist^ (which in most cases is rather the worse of the 
two evils,) — or it may be, the ardours of a sultry 
sun ; — and how, after a wayworn, wearisome day's 
march, he is obliged to seek covert in a tenement 
which promises every thing but quietness, — and re- 
pose in a bed already haunted by a tribe of certain 
brown-coated gentry, who are too sturdy and adroit 
to be dislodged by any of the manoeuvres of modern 
tactics. But as 1 have neither disposition nor time 
just now to describe the traveller's ' miseries,' (and 
not the least, by the by, is the attempting to pre- 
serve a journal, however hasty of daily incident,) I 
will leave this topic after further saying, that, the 
tourist too often finds to his cost, that the charm 
which the imagination throws over objects when 
contemplated at a distance, fades on a near approach, 
and is then found to be but an empty though bril- 
liant illusion. 

On the ride from Falkirk, we crossed the battle 
ground of Bannockburn, skirting a stream of that 
name, where, five centuries ago, Robert Bruce, with 
an army of 30,000, engaged and vanquished Edward 
II. at the head of 100,000 men. The field, which is 
very fertile, is now under high cultivation. The 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 209 

road to Stirling was thronged with people, — men, 
women and children, who were repairing thither to 
attend the fair. As we entered the town, we found 
several of the streets already tilled, and lined with 
panniers, and barrovvs, and drays, and stalls, which 
were furnished with uncounted varieties of wares, 
all very tempting of course. 

From the din and bustle of the crowd, we were 
glad to escape to the more peaceful quarter of the 
town, where we first alighted, and after breakfasting, 
we sallied forth to explore the castle, and take a 
bird's eye view of the environs. A near view of 
Stirling, as we approached it, had showed it to 
great advantage. The town is built upon a hill, 
which in its form resembles that on which the old 
town of Edinburgh stands. The castle is almost a 
perfectyac simile^ though somewhat in miniature, of 
that in the latter place. It is situated on a basaltic 
rock which projects with a bold, precipitous front 
towards the west, and commands one of the finest 
prospects in the world. 

The view from the esplanade is in several re- 
spects decidedly superior, at least, in my humble 
opinion, to the one, so justly admired, from the round 
tower of Windsor. It has more of character about 
it, and a degree of wildness too in that character 
which the other wants. Nothing, it is true, can ex- 
cel in softness and many other features of beauty, 
the Windsor landscape. To say that it is rich^ is to 
convey a faint idea of its effect on the eye. It is 

18* 



210 TOtTR TO LOCH KATRIJN^E 

rich to luxuriousness ; and there is a glow and an 
enamelling in its colourings, which are indescribably 
lovely. But after all, there is a tameness, or rather 
a sleepiness in the scene which does not satisfy the 
mind ; — it is like contemplating a marble bust of 
Rysbrach's chiseling. The whole may be beautiful 
in its way ; but the features are motionless and are 
destitute of sufficient expression. There is another 
thing wanting in the view from Windsor. There are 
no mountains bounding the prospect, or stretching 
in undulating swells along the distant horizon ; and 
I freely confess myself to be of the opinion of the 
honest Scot, so humourously described by Dr. Moore, 
who maintained, that as well might a woman with a 
pair of sparkling eyes, a ruddy complexion and a 
beautiful mouth, be termed handsome, without a 
nose on her face, as a landscape be pronounced per- 
fect, without a mountain to complete its effect. 

Of mountains, there is no want in the view from 
Stirling castle, and yet they do not obtrude them- 
selves on the eye. They are sufficiently removed 
into the back ground, and withal, effectually serve 
to fill up the landscape, and impart to it an air of in- 
expressible dignity and grandeur. From the ram- 
parts of the castle we beheld chains of the Ochill 
and Grampian highlands, and far to the west, the 
blue peaks of the mountains of Argyle and Dum- 
barton. Below us, the majestic Forth was seen for 
many a mile flowing in graceful meanderings through 
a successsion of verdant meads, and fine, fertile 



AA'D THE GRAMPIANS. 211 

lields, dispensing on either hand, beauty and luxuri- 
ance. The windings of this stream in the immediate 
vicinity of Stirling, are very remarkable. Its course 
has been fancifully compared to the figure of some 
huge fabled serpent, stretching its enormous folds 
over an extent of landscape, not however to destroy, 
but to fertilize and enrich. 

It was with difficulty that we withdrew our eyes 
from the enchanting scenery without, to inspect what 
was within the castle. A soldier of the 40th con- 
ducted us round, but we saw nothing very observable. 
The castle comprises two or three courts, one with- 
in another, which are each protected by immense 
gateways and Portcullises. Formerly it must have 
possessed great comparative strength, and even now 
it presents a very formidable and imposing appear- 
ance, although in point of utility it is about as ser- 
viceable as John o** Gaunt's effigy in armour, and the 
other cap-a-pie wooden warriors in the Tower. This 
castle was one of the favourite residences of the 
Scottish monarchs, and the place where several of 
the James'' held their courts. A noble house, or 
more properly, palace, occupies a central position 
within the walls, which was built by James V. We 
did not forget to enquire for the regal hall in which 
the knight of Snowdon stood, ^ the centre of the 
glittering ring,' when unloosing the golden chain 
from his neck, he ' laid the clasp on Ellen's hand.' 
The castle armoury is an object of some curiosity; 
but after hastily inspecting it, we eagerly returned to 
the ramparts to enjoy again, and fix more deeply on 



212 TOUR TO LOCH KATRIJnE 

our minds the magnificent scenery which they over- 
look. 

On our return to the inn, we found cards, and an invi- 
tation to dine with the family of Provost L . We 

had left an introductory letter at the house shortly 
after our arrival in town, but the gentleman to whom 
it was addressed, (Alexander L., Esq.) was not at 
home at the time. He had since been seeking us at 
the castle and elsewhere, but we had not the 
good fortune to meet with him. The invitation to 
dine and other civilities, proifered in an accompany- 
ing note, we regretted to be under the necessity of 
declining ; but Mr. R. being desirous of prosecuting 
the tour with all convenient speed, and the day con- 
tinuing very tempting, we concluded to order a gig 
for Callendar, and recommence our travels. 

The bell of the Franciscan tower pealed the 
hour of twelve, as we drove from the door of the 
Red Lion. Descending Stirling hill, we noticed 
what had before escaped attention, a number of 
walks cut in ledges around the base of the castle 
mount, which were romantically sheltered by hang- 
ing woods. We met numbers of people repairing 
to the town, but no one whose tall majestic figure, 
and firm measured step, proclaimed the approach of 
the Dougla^s. Crossing the Forth, we entered on 
a tract of rich meads, and two miles further arrived 
at the Allan water. Leaving that stream, we ascend- 
ed an eminence which commanded a charming land- 
scape, comprising in immediate prospect, the great 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 213 

vale which extends from Gartmore on the west by 
Stirling and Falkirk on the east, with the noble wind- 
ings of the Frith of Forth. Blair Drummond, the seat 
of the late distinguished lord Kames, was passed a 
mile or two distant at our left, on the other side of 
the river. 

Our first stage was to Doune, nine miles through 
a fine country, well wooded. StirUng with its ve- 
nerable castle, formed a noble object behind us, 
and as we approached Doune, the eye was greeted 
by one of the finest baronial ruins in Scotland. 
The Castle of Doune is situated on a penin- 
sula, formed by the confluence of Ardoch and the 
Teith. It is a huge square building, with walls of 
ten feet in thickness. The tower, at least so much 
of it as remains, is eighty feet high. The whole 
fabric, (parts of which it is computed, have outstood 
the lapse of seven centuries,) is now fast verging 
into ruin; but dilapidated as it is, it still gives the 
second title of lord Doune to the ancient house of 
Moray. The only banner which now waves over 
its mouldering walls, is the tall rank grass which 
grows luxuriantly on its topmost turrets. 

This castle, like many others, is interesting for 
having been for some time the residence of the beau- 
tiful and accomplished, but unhappy Queen Mary. 
It is related also, that in the year 1745, a party of 
students of the University of Edinburgh, being taken 
prisoners, were confined in the strong hold of this 
5ame castle. They had armed themselves in the 



214 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

royal cause, and panting for an opportunity to signal- 
ize their valour, scoured the country as far as the 
water of Teith. It so happened that Glundhu, 
(^poetically, a lineal descendant of Rhoderic Dhu,) 
at that time held possession of the castle, for the ' use 
and behoof of the Pretender. With a small force 
he succeeded in capturing the doughty band of 
beardless youths, and conducting them in safety to 
to the ' bannered towers of Doune,' there furnished 
them severally with the best wards which the keep 
afforded. John Home, author of the tragedy of 
Douglass, was one of their number, who in his his- 
tory of the events of 1745, has given an entertain- 
ing narrative of their escape. 

Mention of Doune occurs frequently in the Lady 
of the Lake, and it is left to be presumed by the 
reader of that popular poem, that the chivalrous 
Fitz-James, and his retinue lodged within the walls of 
this castle on the night preceding the chase. 

, Our route from Doune to Callendar, was the 
self-same which lord Moray's train pursued on the 
occasion alluded to. We could not help wishing that 
our steed had inherited a little of the mettle of their 
' gallant greys ;' — but so far as we could discover, 
notwithstanding the application of a sufficient gal- 
vanic power, the whole was extinct. In justice to 
the poor beast however, it should be added, that he 
made no pretensions, and in the long run, (i. e. a pacing 
step of four miles an hour,) proved himself decidedly 
superior to his morning's predecessor — ^ Hyperion 
to a Satyr.' 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 215 

As we approached Callendar, the mountains group- 
ed themselves finely in the fore ground ; and among 
them Ben-ledi in all his grandeur, towered on the 
view at every step. We passed Cambusmore, a 
beautiful country seat, embosomed in plantations 
with an extensive lawn in front ; and shortly after, 
crossed the Bracklinn, which Scott speaks of as a 
' thundering flood.' It is an impetuous mountain 
stream, brawling over a rocky channel, here and 
there tumbling in cascades, or foaming in rapids, 
and on the whole, answers very well to the poet's 
description. Entering Callendar, we noticed kilts of 
plaid worn by the boys, the first which I have seen 
on children. They were unaccompanied by the 
tartan hose, or even a vulgar pair of shoes. The 
latter articles of dress, the Scotch in general, hold 
apparently m great contempt. The females espe- 
cially it would seem, regard them as very unneces- 
sary appendages. In the course of the day, we met 
many women, both young and old, well dressed in 
other respects, excepting that they were barefoot. 
Some, indeed, we saw furnished both with shoes 
and stockings ; but they took the precaution to carry 
them under their arms, in order probably, to have 
them handy to put on, when arriving near their 
place of destination. 

At Callendar we dismissed our gig, and having 
dined, commenced our last stage, on foot. It was a 
pleasant walk of three hours. The village of C. is 
situated near the Teith,on the very borders of the 



216 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

highlands, so that in leaving it we began to penetrate 
the Switzerland of North Britain. The river Teith 
for a part of its course, was anciently regarded as 
a boundary between the Highland and Lowland dis- 
tricts, and its waters have often been dyed with 
human blood, shed in the combats of the neighbour- 
ing inhabitants. 

There is a good deal of the picturesque in the 
scenery round Callendar. It possesses at least, 
much sylvan beauty, and an air of romantic wild- 
ness. The landscape assumed new charms as we 
proceeded, although association, doubtless, lent 
something of interest to it ; for it was impossible in 
the present instance, to forget wholly that we were 
treading on classic ground. 

Crossing a corner of Strathire not far from the 
site of the chapel of St. Bride, we entered on Bo- 
chastle, a beautiful mead spread along the margin 
of the Teith, and extending as far as its outlet from 
Loch Vennachar. The Teith, it should be remem- 
bered, takes its rise above Loch Katrine, and flow- 
ing through that Lake, next pursues its course 
through the lakes, Achray and Vennachar. In allu- 
sion to this circumstance of its birth, Scott denomi- 
nates it, ' the daughter of three mighty Lakes ;' but 
here, namely at Bochastle, it is quite in its infancy. 
At the end of the mead, just where the stream 
issues from Loch Vennachar, we arrived at Coilan- 
t6gle Ford. This was Clan alpine's outmost guard, 
the scene of conflict between Roderick and Fitz- 
james, and accordingly we viewed it with lively in- 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 217 

terest. A convenient bridge of two arches, erect- 
ed no long time ago, contributes much to the com- 
fort of the traveller, by superseding the necessity 
of actually fording the stream. 

From this place, the road, which was now little 
better than a foot-path, followed closely the margin 
of Vennachar, for three miles or more, at the same 
time, winding along the skirts of Ben Ledi. A point 
of land, indifferently cultivated, and with a few mi- 
serable cabins upon it, projected into the lake at 
the end of this distance. There was. no mistaking 
this for the scene of gathering, or the muster-place 
of the Clan-Alpines. Lannck mead it was, sure 
enough ; and this determmed another point, name- 
ly, that from the heather and broom which clothed 
the acclivities of Ben Ledi on our right, the follow- 
ers of Roderick Dhu arose at his whistling, in grim 
defiance of Fitz-James. 

Two miles further brought us to the Brigg of 
Turk, and the small village of Duncraggan. This 
last is divided into two hamlets ; the houses of 
which, as Scott has most accurately described them, 

Peeped like moss-grown rocks, half seen, 
Half hidden in the copse so green. 

We passed between the hamlets. That on the 
right is sheltered by a few venerable firs and larch- 
es, which flung their dusky lengthening shadows 
around, and warned us of the near approach of 
evening. 

19 



218 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

The road soon wound down from the sides of Ben 
Ledi to the charming shores of Loch Achray. The 
scenery lost none of its grandeur, although the fea- 
tures were more intermingled. A little before us, 
' Ben-An heaved high his forehead bare,' and fur- 
ther to the left surrounded with numerous other Al* 
pine forms, arose the bold outline of Ben Venue. 
Achray is a lovely expanse of water. It is girt 
with a border of waving woods, and meads of pasto- 
ral softness. As we approached it, a breeze was 
gently agitating its surface ; bu this shortly died 
away, and the waters slumbered in profound repose. 
The summits of the adjacent mountains were seen 
reflected from its placid bosom with equal clearness 
and distinctness, as from a finely polished mirror. 
Twilight, however, gradually veiled these images, 
but increased the general effect of the landscape, by 
an air of enchantment, which it communicated to 
the whole. 

It was just at nightfall when we arrived at the 
door of the farm house, whence these notes are 
dated. The name, (horribile dictu^) is too long to 
be repeated. The cottage is situated at the upper 
extremity of Loch Achray, just at the mouth of the 
wild gorge of the Trosachs. James Stuart is the 
proprietor, whose principal occupation at this sea- 
son of the year is to entertain travellers ; that is to 
say, to give them shelter under his roof, and to fur- 
nish them with guides to the interesting objects in 
the vicinity. Our entertainment within doors, — so 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 219 

far as the supper was concerned, — consisted of 
smoaked fish, barley cakes, whiskey, (which was 
the staple,) ^ad a quantity of milk served up in 
wooden bowls, with horn spoons. Savoury viands, 
forsooth ! What added to the comfort of all this was, 
the perspicacious intellig-ence of the serving maid, 
whose whole vocabulary of English, was compre- 
hended in, — ' What's your wull, sir ? — ' Ayc^'' — and^ 
— ' ni call master.^ 

James Stuart seems to have found his account in 
his gains from travellers. He has lately built a 
house adjacent to his private dwelling, wherein he 
professes to accommodate those who honour him 
with their company. As this said new house has 
but one sleeping apartment, it became a question 
whether Mr. R. or myself should be the occupant. 
The lot was determined in favour of that gentle- 
man, and accordingly I repaired to the quondam te- 
nement. My bed-room is found on inspection, to be 
hterally on the ground floor, there being not a 
board, nor a tile, nor a blade of straw, above the 
bare earth, excepting under the crib in which my 
bed is placed. Tired as I am, my only hope of 
rest, is in the opiate of fatigue. ' Norman, heir of 
Armandave,' doubtless, fared equally well, when 
the heath was his couch, and the bracken his curtain. 

LOCH LOMOND SIDE, MAY 31 ST. 

After an early breakfast, Mr. R. and my- 
self, set off from the firm house of Ardkanacroch- 
kan, to explore more particularly the scenery to 



220 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

which the poem of the ' Lady of the Lake' has lent 
celebrity, and the charm of classic association. 

Taking with us a guide, who was also to act as 
boatman as occasion might require, we bade adieu to 
the sweet shores of Achray, 

< Its banks and braes sae bonnie. 



Craigs and water, woods and glen,'- 



and proceeded towards the wild pass of the Tro- 
sachs. 

The road wound through deep and narrow defiles, 
hemmed in by steep and precipitous ridges on either 
side. The mountains which overtopped them, ex- 
hibited a peculiarly rugged and alpine aspect. 
Their summits were bleak, sterile, and bald ; — mid- 
way they were girt with a belt of heath, and furze, 
and broom ; — and their feet were ' feather'd o'er' 
with woods of hazel, weeping birch, alder, mountain- 
ash and oak. 

It was not long before we reached the rugged 
dell, in which the generous steed of Fitz-James 
sunk to the earth and expired. Of course, for the 
residue of om- walk before reaching the lake, we 
rather had the advantage of the royal pedestrian. 
For we w^ere fresh, and invigorated by the morning 
mountain-breeze, and had the whole day before us, 
and moreover, were enjoying the services of a guide 
whose frank, guileless countenance was enough to 
disarm apprehension, and remove all suspicion of 
his claiming lineage from Murdock, the treacherous 
'Kern.' Whereas the huntsman, wearied by the 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 221 

lengthened chace, was obliged to thread his way, 
solitary and alone, through tangled bush and brake, 
ignorant whither his steps might conduct him, — 
whether to some friendly shelter, or the haunts of 
deadly foes, — and ignorant too, whether at every 
turn, the grim countenance of some savage moun- 
taineer might not be seen scowling upon his path. 

But without pursuing the parallel between our 
situation and that of Fitz-James, — it is interesting, to 
reflect in general, on the wonderful and happy 
change which, within the memory of many now liv- 
ing, has been wrought in the characters of the har- 
dy natives of these wild, and mountain-girt regions. 
Still does the foaming, dashing torrent, bay hoarse 
and loud : — still do the surrounding cliffs frown stern- 
ly as ever : — still in the ' rifted rock,' may the pine 
tree be seen moored^ and every other feature of the 
landscape is found marked by a savage correspon- 
dence. Even the roe, free and untamed, still makes 
his lair among the adjacent fells. The red deer 
still strays in quest of covert, and of food, in the dus- 
ky forest of Glenfinglass, and the gloomy recesses of 
Craig-Vad : — nor as yet, is the black eagle dislodged 
from her aerial home in these alpine fastnesses ; the 
osprey still watches her prey from the projecting 
cliff that yawns over the watery abyss, and each 
passmg breeze bears in its bosom, the piercing wild- 
notes of the bittern and the cormorant. Nature has 
nowise deviated from her accustomed course ; — she 
continues to renew her forests, to replenish her 

19* 



^22 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

roaring cataracts, and to infuse the self-same in- 
stincts into the various tribes of animals which peo- 
ple these rocky retreats. 

Man, alone is changed : and how marvellous is 
that change ! — Civilization has smoothed his rugged 
front ; has operated with a kindly, softening influ- 
ence upon the feelings of his heart, and in place of a 
fondness for war, and rapine, and scenes of turbu- 
lence and blood, has taught him to respect the rights 
of his fellow-man, to banish every rancorous heredi- 
tary feud, and to seek a peaceful livelihood in some 
industrious calling, among his native clansmen, and in 
his own sequestered glen. Civilization, do I say, 
has produced these happy results ? — Rather, should I 
have said, religion ; — rehgion, pure, peaceable, and 
gentle ; — religion, holy and heaven-descended, which 
begins with transforming the moral man, and then 
proceeds to ameliorate eifectually his civil condition 
and circumstances. Hers, is the gentle voice which 
hushes the angry, tumultuous elements of the human 
breast, and melts the heart of man to kindness, by 
pointing his thoughts and his affections to the 
Heavens. 

But to return to my narrative ; — Continuing our 
walk within the Trosachs, and having proceeded 
about a mile, we arrived at an high shaggy emi- 
nence, which at first sight, seemed to block entirely 
the pass. Our guide called it ' Roderick Dhu's 
Look-out :' it being the hill, he said, round which 
Fitz-James came, when he suddenly discovered the 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 223 

fire which was blazing under a jutting crag, and the 
tall athletic form of the Gael, stretched by the side 
of it. The next object described, was Loch Ka- 
trine, — for which we had been impatiently looking 
from the time of our entering the Trosachs. Scott's 
description of its first appearance is strikingly just : — 

A narrow inlet still and deep 
Affording scarce such breadth of brim 
As served the wild ducVs brood to swim. 

It in fact appears at this point, like a little pool in 
the hollow of the hills ; — but presently as we pro- 
ceeded, it enlarged its basin, and stretched into a 
lengthening expanse. Not a ripple was playing up- 
on its surface ; — and the breath of air that was stir- 
ring, scarcely waved a leaf of the aspen, which dip- 
ped its pendulous boughs into the waters of the 
lake. 

The guide directed our attention to a ridge on our 
right, which was the same he informed us, along 
which the knight of Snowdon clambered, when he 
caught the first view of Katrine, and broke out into 
that inimitable exclamation, beginning with, 

And what a scene were here, he cried 
For princely pomp or churchman's pride. — 

It was on this same height that Mar and Moray, paus- 
ed with their troops, whilst the spearman swam over 
to cut a boat from the shore of the Isle, and bring it 
to mainland. At least so would the poet have 



224 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

us believe ; and such was the faithful echo of the 
guide. 

The latter spoke of objects and things which pre- 
sented themselves on our route as real scenes of the 
different transactions recorded in the Ladj of the 
Lake ; — nor from what we could learn, (and for the 
sake of the amusement we plied him with questions 
enough) — did he entertain the most distant suspicion 
that the incidents described in that poem were any 
thing less than sober, actual facts. There was one 
piece of information, however, which he gave us, 
which was interesting on another ground, than a 
fictitious locality. Leading the Trosachs we passed 
a deep ravine enclosed with precipitous crags, in 
which, we were told, the clan Gregor were formerly 
in the habit of secreting the flocks and herds which 
they had plundered in their lowland forays. It is 
thence at this day, denominated in familiar language, 
that is to say, in plain English, the prison ; and it has 
another appellation in Gaelic, which I now cannot 
recal. 

Near the lower extremity of the lake, where we 
first came down upon it, there is a rude pier con- 
structed, which extends for a considerable way under 
the brae, that here shelves abruptly to the water's 
edge. Two boats were moored along side this pier, 
into the better of which we made preparations to 
embark. Bui, alas ! it was no ' light shallop ;' and 
we doubted much whether the wizard wand of any 
poetic necromancer was capable of transforming it 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 225 

into one. Surely, thought we, if Ellen's skiif, or 
even the barge of Roderick, were no better than 
this, Charon's would have furnished a more graceful 
model, and withal, might have boasted a decided su- 
periority in point of trim. 

Leaving the guide, — now, however, metamorphos- 
ed into a waterman, — to bail out the boat, we climb- 
ed an eminence which overhung the lake, and took 
a bird^s-eye view of the surrounding scenery. This 
done, we embarked, and after saiUng about a quarter 
of a mile, and turning an abrupt promontory, the 
lake opened upon us in all its beauty and magnifi- 
cence. From the point then viewed, it appeared 
about six or seven miles in length, and varymg from 
one and an half, to two and an half in breadth. We 
did not, however, see it in its entire extent. Of the 
objects which environed the lake, Ben Venue was 
the most prominent. This was seen on our left, 
rearing its shaggy colossal form to a stupendous 
height. It is a very picturesque mountain. Its slop- 
ing ridges were covered with the trembling poplar, 
birch, and mountain-ash ; and its skirts were rich in 
pastures. A nearer view discovered the scars and 
furrows, which a thousand tempests have traced on 
its weather-beaten brow, — and the wild confusion of 
the huge masses of rock which were piled along its 
northern shoulder. 

We were landed first at the foot of this mountain, 
and conducted to Coir-nan-Uriskin, or the Goblin's 
cave, situated about two hundred yards from the 



226 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

lake. It is nothing more than a gentle hollow, oi» 
indentation on the side of Ben Venue. It is finely 
embosomed with trees, and very romantic ; but why 
it should be called a cave, I know not, except from 
the popular tradition that the Urisks, a species of 
demi-semi preternatural beings, answering some- 
what to the brownies of England, used regularly to 
convene in this place on all solemn occasions, and a 
cave was naturally thought to be the most appro- 
priate name for such a spot. 

These urisks, according to ancient superstition, 
were very expert with implements of husbandry, 
and were capable of being won over to perform the 
servile labours and drudgery of a farm. Their 
brawny shoulders and ' hairy strength,' being found 
of great use to the peasant: it was common, no long 
time ago, for each highland family to retain one of 
this order in its service. If report speaks true, the 
custom has not yet altogether fallen in desuetude ;— 
but it seems that the Urisks, who possess a due 
share of native peevishness, have become, at length 
greatly soured and disaffected, in consequence of 
certain returns of ingratitude which they have ex- 
perienced. One of them in particular, it is said, has 
taken great umbrage. He was attached to a small 
farm, a mile or two distant from Ben-venue, and had 
performed very faithfully for a series of years, 
the drudgery imposed upon him. Such was his 
strength 



AJNTD THE GRAMPIANS. 22^7 

That in one night ere glimpse of morn, 
His shadowy flail could thresh the corn 
Which ten day-labourers could not end,* — 

His only compensation for all this, was a bowl of 
cream and an oaton cake, (saving indeed occasion- 
ally, a maud, or plaid, if it chanced to be cold,) sup- 
plies, however, which were punctually expected, 
per noctem, — and these, he as regularly despatched, 

Ere the first cock his matin sung. 

It SO happened that on one night he was neglected 
in these courtesies. He nevertheless, very mag- 
nanimously performed his task, but was heard at 
peep of dawn, to utter a wild and piercing cry, and 
took his departure never more to return. 

It is shrewdly suspected that the disgust thus 
occasioned is fast spreading itself throughout the 
tribe ; as it is agreed on all hands, that these 
Urisks now-a-days, seldom visit the habitations 
of men, or condescend to enlist themselves in 
their service. This is the more lamentable, just 
now, as the attention of the hardy Gael, is be- 
ginning to be turned particularly to the culture of 
his native soil : — and the plodding, painstaking indus- 
try of these fellow-helpers of his fathers would be 
found to be of great utility. — The only remedy which 
the existing exigency seems to sugge; t, —though 
what the wisdom of another generation may devise, 

* Milton's L'Allegro. 



228 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

it is difficult to conjecture, — is, the speedy formatioa 
of some half dozen or more, agricultural societies, — 
the adoption of the valuable hints on the subject of 
practical husbandry, furnished by sir Humphry Davy, 
and above all, — the imitating the sturdy habits of the 
Green Mountain boys of New-England, who depend- 
ing on no other supernatural aid than the blessing of 
the God of nature, have braced their sinews, and 
girded their iron frames to the work of reclaiming 
and subjugating the soil, and have at length fairly 
succeeded in forcing it to yield them subsistence, and 
competency, and independence. 

What we had seen ot Coir-nan-Urisken, so far 
satisfied us, that we declined a proposal from our 
guide to visit Bealanambo, another cave situated a 
small distance off, upon the southern acclivity of 
Ben-venue, which he represented as remarkable, 
for various unearthly wonders, which 1 am at pre- 
sent, unable to recollect. 

The boat was accordingly again shoved from the 
strand, and we proceeded to Roderick's Island. We 
landed upon the very beach whence the gentle 
Ellen put off her ' fairy frigate,' at the sound of 
Fitz-James' horn. — Ail was still and lone. — No Al- 
lan-bane greeted us with his mmstreisy : — no fair 
damsel bent upon us a look of courteous salutation : 
— no vassal awaited our landing with a protfer of the 
hospitalities of ' highland hall,' and we even listened 
in vain for the whimpering cry of the ' vex'd span- 
iel.' There was one object indeed, which deter- 



ANB THE GRAMPIANS 229 

mined the identity of the domain, with that of the 
fair Ellen. It was 



-the aged oak 



Which slanted from the islet rock ; — 

And this seemed to wave its venerable branches in 
token of amity, and the br eeze which sighed through 
them we thought whispere d a welcome. 

The island rises with a bold bank from the water, 
and swells into a gentle knoll crowning the centre. 
It is covered with woods of a beautiful, native 
growth, and several varieties of flowering shrubs. 
Among the smaller plants and flowerets which we 
noticed, were the fox-glove, honey-suckle, daisy, 
primrose, and enchanter's night shade. 

We soon completed the survey of the Island, but 
it was long, very long, before we were willing to 
take leave of it. I was fortunate in having with me 
a copy of the Lady of the Lake, which I procured, 
the morning I left Edinburgh, expressly for the pur- 
pose of consulting it, and referring to the descriptions 
of the author, on each remarkable spot. We have 
had occassion frequently to resort to its pages, since 
leaving Stirling, and have experienced great satisfac- 
tion in tracing a striking resemblance between natu- 
ral objects around us, and the delineations of the 
poet. Making allowance for some few licences and 
aberrations, the latter are drawn with a fidelity 
which we could not but admire. ■ hey are strictly 
graphic, and true to the very letter. 

20 



mo TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

Deeming it needful to carry away with us, some 
vouchers of our visit to this fairy isle, we picked up 
a few pebbles from the beach, plucked several 
sprigs of mountain ash, and gathered a few leaves of 
the foxglove, together with specimens of such wild- 
flowers as we found in blossom. These spoils we 
bore off with a throb of mingled pleasure and pride ; 
and in the sense of possession, experienced doubtless 
as much heart-felt satisfaction as many a Midas re- 
ceives in contemplating his hoarded stores, or a vic- 
tor his hard-earned bays. 

Once more we betook ourselves to the boat, and 
sailed to the opposite shore, where we ascended an 
high bluff headland, which is said to command the 
finest view of the lake, and the surrounding scenery. 
The prospect thence, was truly magnificent ; but 
to enumerate, or by any description, however labour- 
ed, to give a just conception of its features, is utterly 
impracticable. The effect to be properly under- 
stood, requires that the whole should be seen. 1 
will merely add a remark therefore, on the subject 
of the general cast of the landscape. It is, that there 
is less of softness, and more of a savage majesty in the 
scene, than I had thought to find. Excepting the 
skirts of Ben-venue, the point of Brianchoil, (where- 
on is a fine farm,) and here and there a shorn glade, 
or an enclosed patch of meadow, the lands immediate- 
ly bordering upon the lake, are in a state of primi- 
tive wildness. This wildness requires to be re- 
lieved by a greater proportion of cultivated soil, by 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 231 

more of fruitful fields and green pastures, to make 
the whole landscape completely beautiful, as well 
as grand. 

The quantity of wood-land which appeared on 
every side, surprised us not a little. Much of the 
wood, moreover, was of a vigorous and healthy 
growth. In general it is not of the best quality, it is 
true, but then there is enough, of it, and at a very 
low price too. The peasantry and shepherds em- 
ploy it almost exclusively for fuel, which is a suffi- 
cient evidence of its abundance, as the neighbour- 
hood furnishes tracts of the finest peat* mosses. 

A sail of an half mile further, brought us to a 
beach of almost milk white appearance, occasioned 
by the singular beauty and clearness of the quartz 
pebbles which cover it. It is denominated the ' sil- 
ver strand,' and also, indifferently, the Beach of In- 
terview. 

From this point we took our departure for the 
head of the lake ; and bore up slowly towards Glen- 
gyle. The sun never shone with greater splendour 
upon Loch Katrine ; and every object around, appear- 

* The writer of these sketches, as he penetrated father north 
into the highlands, witnessed in several districts, a still great- 
er abundance of wood ; — especially in Lorn and Appin. Be- 
tween fort Augustus, and Inverness, he passed through two or 
three forests of several miles extent. The trees were chiefly ash 
birch, alder, holly, and trembling-poplar. This was the morf- 
observable, as Scotland is noted for its scarcity of forest or woocf.- 
;ands. 



m2 TOUR TO LOCH KATRIJN'E 

ed to fine advantage. The lake itself was literally of 
a glassy smoothness ; and gave back, with wonderful 
distinctness, the images of the surrounding scenes. 

From the pier where we first entered the boat, to 
the place of final debarkation, at the upper extremi- 
ty of Katrine, is a distance of ten miles. Having 
completed the cruise, we seated ourselves upon a 
grassy bank, and examined the contents of our store- 
basket. It furnished but an indifferent meal, being pro- 
vided simply with such homely fare as the farm-house 
at Achray had afforded. But exercise, and the keen 
alpine air, which we had been inhaling, gave to the 
food a zest which is often looked for, in vain, in 
costlier viands ; — and on the whole, we had reason to 
think more favourably of the solid comforts of Ar- 
Itenacrohkan, than we were disposed to do on the 
evening previous. 

Before leaving the romantic shores of Loch 
Katrine, we cast a lingering look upon the enchant- 
ing beauties of the scene, and waving farewell to 
them, pursued our journey on foot over the moors 
and heaths to Loch Lomond, distant five miles. Our 
boatman, of whose amphibious capacity, I believe 
I have already made some mention, contin ued with 
us through the walk, being transformed into a porter, 
as well as cicerone. The tract of country on which 
we entered, was exceedingly wild and rugged. 
Scarcely a footpath led through it, and this at times 
almost deserted us ; so much so at least, that it was 
very difficult to trace its direction. We passed 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 233 

Loch Arklet, an expanse of water a mile or two ia 
length, enclosed amidst rocks and heaths. Its waters 
appeared of an inky blackness, and every thing 
around was sterile and dreary. 

A mile from Loch Lomond we came to Inversnaid, 
a ruinous fort that rose unexpectedly upon us, from 
amidst the surrounding desolation, like Tadmor in 
the desert. This fort was built for the purpose of 
protecting the bordering country, and those unwary 
travellers who were obliged to pass this way, against 
the depredations and outrages of gangs of free- 
booters, who formerly infested the district. Until 
within forty years, a small garrison was kept here ; 
but the need of a military surveillance no longer 
existing, the post was abandoned and the barracks 
have been suffered to go to decay. One wing, 
however, of the crumbling pile, still gives shelter to 
some poor family, who have attempted to arrest the 
ravages which time and the elements were fast 
making upon it, — and who dwell there in humble, 
and doubtless, contented obscurity. 

The fort is chieflv memorable for its having been 
assigned as a station to the celebrated General Wolfe, 
when a subaltern. In chasing, and engaging with 
the highland marauder, among the neighbouring- 
defiles and fastnesses, he had to contend with a foe 
little less cruel, vindictive or insidious, than the 
North American Indian, whom he was subsequcnth'^ 
obhged to encounter. In those youthful days, even 
when hope beat highest, he hardly looked forward 
20 * 



234 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

to the brilliant though arduous career of action 
which he was destined to run ; and little did he 
foresee the laurels, which at some future day, he 
was to gather upon the snows of Canada, and still 
less that illustrious wreath, — steeped indeed in his 
dying blood, — which victory was to entwine around 
his brow upon the heights of Abraham. 

Curiosity and fatigue induced us to stop in the 
course of the walk, at a miserable cabin, where we 
were received very hospitably by the gude woman, 
who set before us cheese, barley-cakes, and milk. 
The room into which we were introduced was 
evidently the better of the two which the hut- 
contained. A fire-place was rudely constructed in 
one corner, in which a small fire was burning. 
The smoke after being conducted about three feet 
above the grate by a narrow chimney, or more 
properly, a sort of tunnel, was there left to itself, 
and of course obliged to find its way out as well as 
it could, through a hole in the thatch of the cabin 
above. The consequence was, that a great part of 
it preferred remaining behind to taking that trouble ; 
and the room, which was scarcely nine feet square, 
was so filled, that for some time we were unable to 
see across it ; and vv^e found still greater difficulty in 
our attempts at respiration. The dame, however, 
with her two or three chubby, sooty-faced children, 
did not seem to notice the evil, or experience the 
slightest inconvenience from it, and surprise was 
expressed on our remarking upon it. 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 285 

The first view of Loch Lomond was noble. The 
spot from which we obtained it, was very elevated, 
and we paused some time to enjoy the spectacle. 
So much of the lake as could be discerned from that 
position, was hemmed in by towering masses of 
rocks and mountains, which presented a sublime 
contrast to the lovely repose of the waters beneath. 
The sun was just sinking behind their loftier ridges, 
and poured a parting flood of radiance along the 
surface of the Loch. We descended with great 
difficulty to the shore ; — the path being exceedingly 
bad, and the declivity precipitous and abrupt. 

'Twas oft so steep, the foot was fain 
Assistance from the hand to gain. 

The boat was on the other side of Loch Lomond, 
and our patience was put in requisition until it 
should return. A fire was kindled on the beach as 
a signal ; — but I was so excessively tired, that during 
the interval 1 stretched myself upon one of the 
rocks which overhung the water's edge, and obtain- 
ed a very comfortable nap. The small surge which 
feebly broke at the foot of my flmty couch, added 
to the murmur of a neighbouring waterfall, sung my 
lullaby. 

Just before entering the boat, which was an half 
hour afterwards, I had the curiosity to examine the 
interior of our ferry-man's house. And here, in- 
stead of the small part of a chimney which we saw 



236 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

in the cabin which we had visited on the way, there 
was not the slightest pretension to one. The fire, — 
what little there was, — was built upon a broad, 
rough stone, and two or three unhewn rocks were 
placed behind it to serve as supports to the fuel. 
The smoke, therefore, was literally left to shift for 
itself; and it found its way to every crack and 
crevice, (and they were many,) of the miserable 
apartment. Mr. R. and myself were almost choked 
by it.* 

* This hut was by no means an unfavourable specimen of 
the habitations of the highland peasantry in general. Prompted 
often by curiosity, and sometimes constrained for the sake of 
shelter, I visited numbers of them in the course of my highland 
tour : and not a few were decidedly worse than the wretched 
tenement on Loch Lomond side, which is mentioned above. 
It was not uncommon to find a dwelling constructed merely of 
mud, — in other words, of banks of turf sods, the grassy sides of 
which, being turned without, gave to these comfortless abodes 
the appearance, a little way off, of artificial knolls of earth, 
resembling barrows, or sepulchral tumuli. 

I have since visited the settlement of a tribe of Indians in 
my own country, and my personal observation enables me to 
assert with literal accuracy, that the ivigwams of these red 
men of the forest are at least equal, if not superior in comfort 
and accommodation to the cabins of the poorer Scottish high- 
landers. The wigwam of the North-American Indian is, in 
winter, a square building of convenient size, constructed of 
logs and other heavy timber, covered within with intertwisted 
branches of trees ; and his summer residence is a smaller struc- 
ture of a conical form, lightly built, with bark and slender 
rafters of wood ; — and each, in every respect, is far preferable to 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 237 

We were not long in crossing the lake, and landed 
at a small quay near Tarbert, where a servant was 
waiting to attend us to a small, but very neat and 
comi'ortable inn. 

June 1st. — This morning, the landlord of the inn 
entered my chamber to point my attention to some 
stanzas which many years ago were inscribed on a 
pane of glass in one of the windows which look 
toward Ben Lomond. The subject was the ascent 
of that mountain, and the verses I found executed in 
a somewhat better taste than the drivehng couplets 

the sheeling of any highland shepherd between the Grampians 
and the Moray Frith. The Indian moreover, in his diet, has 
manifestly the superiority over the Scotch mountaineer. He 
subsists upon the best game of the forest, as well as on the 
treasures which he draws from the sea and the sands; and at 
night, he reposes upon a couch as good at least, as that of any 
cottager in the North Highlands. For in place of a bed of 
heath and a plaid covering, he wraps himself in his warm 
blanket, and lies down upon branches of fir, and spruce, and 
hemlock. It is true, that saH:upe, squair^ and pappouse all 
chum together ; but they form a company somewhat more 
homogeneous than a domestic clan of piy,s, and poultry, and 
sheep, and dogs, and bairns^ with the good man and wife in the 
centre, which are often actually found at one and the same time, 
strewn over the ground-floor of a highland cabin. 

It is deemed no disparagement to add, that in point of general 
civilization, the remoter North Highlander may be ranked on 
the same footing with the Calmuck Tartar and the aboriginal 
Indians of the United States. From this remark the Clan 
Alpine Gael, or the native of the Southern Grampian ridge, is 
of course, meant to be excluded. Some observations have been 
offered above ou the subject of his charaqter. 



238 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

and rhymings which it is usual to see scratched on 
the windows and wainscoatings of taverns generally. 
The writer, it appears, having ascended Ben Lo- 
mond, was desirous that future travellers should be 
benefited by his experience. The advice is offered 
with much modesty and a tone of playful sincerity, 
and is really expressed in very gentlemanly and ap- 
propriate diction. The poem begins with, — 

Stranger, if o'er this pane of glass perchance 
Thy roving eye should cast a casual glance ; 
If taste for grandeur and the dread sublime 
Prompt thee Ben Lomond's fearful height to climb, 
Here stop attentive, nor with scorn refuse 
The fr;endly rhymings of a tavern muse. 

After this conciliatory exordium, and some further 
periphrasis, the poet proceeds to the main subject of 
his epic, and this he keeps in view with true Home- 
ric unity until the close. 

Trust not at first a quick advent'rous pace, 
Six miles its top points gradual from its base. 
Up the high rise with panting haste i passed 
And gain'd the long laborious steep at last. 
More prudent you., when once you pass the deep. 
With cautious steps and slow ascend the steep. 

A piece of advice which follows, must approve it- 
self to the taste of every way-worn traveller. 

Oh ! stop a while and taste the cordial drop. 
And rest. Oh ! rest, long, long upon the topj— 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 239 

The lameness of the latter of these lines is amply 
redeemed by two or three couplets which occur 
shortly after, descriptive of the relative position and 
aspect of Ben Lomond. 

Enormous groups ! while Ben, Avho often shrouds 
His lofty summit in a veil of clouds, 
Frowns o'er the rest exulting in his state, 
In proud pre-eminence sublimely great. 

The whole of this curious performance concludes 
with the lines, 

All this and more thou shalt with wonder see, 
And own a faithful monitor in me. 

The above verses are subscribed, " Thomas Rus- 
sell, Oct. 3d, 1771." — Beneath this is written, 'Alas, 
poor Russell! A. C. 1777;' — and then in another 
hand, ' He died soon after.' 

This is Sunday ; but there being no place of pub- 
lic worship at Tarbert, Mr. R. and myself concluded 
that the day could not be spent better than in con- 
templating the sublime scenery around us, the 
workmanship of nature, or rather of nature's Archi- 
tect. Accordingly we ordered a boat, and sailed 
down the lake with an intention of visiting some of 
the islands which crowd its southern expanse. The 
uncommon clearness of the weather, — there being 
not a cloud to be seen in the heavens, — showed Ben 
Lomond to the finest advantage. I observed my 
friend attentively surveying the distinctly-defined 



240 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

outline of the mountain, occasionally measuring with 
his eye the distance between the base and the sum- 
mit, and now and then, casting- a wistful glance at its 
topmost peak, — and I anticipated a proposal which I 
saw he was more than half-disposed to make, that 
we should land on the eastern shore of the lake, and 
scale the acclivities of this king of the Grampians. 
After a little deliberation, we decided that we would 
undertake the ascent of the mountain, and accord- 
ingly we altered our course and had the boat put up 
for Rowardenan. 

Arriving there, we found a company gathering 
upon a green near the public house, for the purpose 
of attending divine service. We mingled with the 
group and waited to hear the preacher's exhortation. 
He was of the itinerant class, — and had not a little 
of that canting, whining tone of voice, which in New 
England is sometimes denominated a puritanic twang — 
and which in this country is a very common distinc- 
tion, as well of the modern disciples of John Knox 
as the fanatical followers of Richard Cameron. In 
the appearance and manner of the preacher, there 
was nothing indeed, prepossessing ; but we were 
willing to listen for another object than that of idle 
cavil and criticism. It is the very furthest from my 
thought on such an occasion, to indulge in any vSpe- 
cies of levity. I cannot, and I wish not to divest 
myself of the conviction, that I stand in the same 
high and solemn relations to God and futurity, as do 
ttiy fellow-worshippers around me, — I mean, as re- 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 241 

spects my guiltiness, and by consequence, my un- 
worthiness of those messages and overtures of love 
which ' The same Lord, who is God over all,' vouch- 
safes unto men. I feel that one and the same sup- 
plication must ascend from my heart as from theirs ; 
that the incense of the same united prayers must 
rise from a common censer before the throne of the 
Eternal ; — and cherishing this conviction, many a 
time and oft has my heart been warmed with a glow 
of sympathetic feeling, my mind has been i^e freshed 
with salutary instructions, my soul quickened with 
holy fervours. At such seasons, the preacher, 
per 56, I very little regard : — it is enough for me that 
he manifests a love for souls — that he is truly desi- 
rous that his instructions be accompanied with the 
demonstration of the spirit and of power, and, withal, 
that he cherishes some scanty modicum of charity 
for those, who beg leave to dissent from the meta- 
physical subtleties which may be set forth in his 
own party creed. 

I must confess, however, that I have never yet 
met with those prodigies of preachers in distant and 
sequestered tracts of country which it is the happi- 
ness of some tourists to find without searching wher- 
ever they chance to travel. So flir as my own ob- 
servation goes, I am strongly inclined to suspect that 
very few have caught the mantle of James Waddel. 
At any rate, his kindred are far from being numerous 
in the glens of Scotland, and it was very evident that 
the preacher whom we heard to-day, was attached 

21 



.242 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

to some other fraternity. To say truth, he wfis 
very ordinary in his line ; but yet as he manifested 
much of a tender, affectionate soUcitude for the spi- 
ritual welfare of those whom he addressed, there 
was reason to hope that the water of life which 
flowed from the text which he smote, found its way 
into more than one thirsty and drooping soul. 

Under the conduct of a guide, who was also fur- 
nished with our store of refreshments, we next com- 
menced the ascent of the mountain. To recount 
our many tedious steps, would be a task for which I 
have neither leisure nor inclination. It is sufficient 
to say, that after a toilsome climbing of three 
hours and an half, we at length arrived at the sum- 
mit, and enjoyed the noblest prospect of which Ca- 
ledonia can boast. Whilst ascending, indeed, the 
mountain, we had stopped several times to contem- 
plate the rich and varied scenery which spread it- 
self at our feet ; — and it was singular to mark the 
gradual enlargement of the field of vision, and the 
new aspects which objects and things from time to 
time assumed. But after all we were but little pre- 
pared for the extent and grandeur of the view 
which we obtained from the top. 

With feelings of wonder we surveyed the stupen- 
dous outline of mountains which undulated along the 
horizon from the commencement of the Ochill hills 
in the east, to Ben More on the north, and Crua- 
chan and Ben Nevis on the w^est. In this magnifi- 
cent chain were descried Ben VoirUch, Ben Har- 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 243 

row and Ben Lawers, and more westerly, the Paps 
of Jura, besides many lesser heights. Lookmg 
over the tops of these numerous mountains, the 
whole appeared like so many waves of the sea 
arrested, just at the moment of culminating at their 
fullest height ; — and their bald, craggy peaks an- 
swered well to the crested foam of towering, 
raging billows. In the hollows of the nearer 
mountains, we beheld verdant glens, and the glit- 
tering surfaces of the Perthshire lakes ; — and the 
eye, roving far to the southward, expatiated with 
delight on the rich plains of Stirlingshire and the 
Lothians, the soft vales of Renfrew, with the Frith 
of Clyde meandering through them, and in distant 
prospect, the city of Glasgow and the Rock and 
Castle of Dumbarton. 

Ben Lomond itself presents a very remarkable as- 
pect. To the south it stretches into gentle and easy 
slopes; but the north side exhibits a perpendicular 
face of rock, 1800 feet in height. The mountain 
seems on this side, anciently to have undergone 
some mighty disruption ; — huge fragments ar6 
strewn in the wildest disorder at its base, and the 
appearance of things is the same as might be ima- 
gined to take place, provided some terrible earth- 
quake had cleft and disintegrated the northern 
shoulder, and scattered the broken masses confused- 
ly over the plain below. It is remarkable that Ben 
Ledi and Ben Venue, present each a similar aspect; 
and the accurate Dr. Graham of Aberfoyle, testifies 



244 TOUR TO LOCH KATRIJVE 

from his own personal observation, that the same 
thing holds true of Ben Voirlich in Perthshire, 
Goatiieid in Arran, and the loftier momitains in 
CowaL Reserving for geologists the explanation 
and solution of these phenomena, I merely add, as 
respects the mineralogical structure of the moun- 
tain, that the rock consists chiefly of greenstone, in- 
termixed with masses of quartz, and plenty of wav- 
ing schistus. 

To recur to the subject of prospect ; — the finest 
object perhaps in the whole circuit of landscape as 
^een from Ben Lomond, is the Loch of that name, 
which is spread out in magnificent relief, in all its 
length and breadth, bathing the skirts of the moun- 
tain, and extending for thirty miles from the hills of 
Arroquhar to the water of Leven at its outlet. It 
is the noblest lake in Great Britain, and fairly chal- 
lenges a tribute of admiration from every lover of 
the picturesque and grand in scenery. The shores 
of this lake present a remarkable union of the cha- 
racteristics of the Highland and Lowland landscape. 
The country bordering upon its lower extremity is 
in general level, but very fertile, and in the high- 
est state of cultivation. Distance softened the tints 
which embellished it, and gave them a peculiar de- 
licacy, and, if I may so speak, an harmony of co- 
louring, which was lovely beyond expression. The 
upper part of the lake is encompassed with the 
tall, rugged hills of Arroquhar, already mentioned, 
— which are grouped closely together, and hang 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 245 

v^ith a lowering, menacing aspect over its waters, 
as though interdicting its further ingress into the 
territories of the Celt. 

Seen from Ben Lomond, this section of the Loch 
bears a strong resemblance to the river Hudson, 
among the highlands, a little below Newburgh. 
The Hudson, however, is not so broad as the lake, 
nor are the New York highlands so lofty as the 
mountainous ridge of Arroquhar. From Rowarden- 
nan, the Loch begins to widen very materially, and 
between the pass of Bealmaha and the Boat of Bal- 
lock, on the opposite shores at its southern termina- 
tion, it is very nearly ten miles in breadth. Its sur- 
f\ice there is sprinkled with islands of the most ro- 
mantic beauty. 

Several of these islands are inhabited ; — others, 
are the privileged ranges of the deer, having only 
hunting-lodges upon them, tenanted by the foresters 
of their respective proprietors. Our guide pointed 
our attention to Inch Cailliach, which formerly was 
the burial place of the Macgregors, and which the 
inhabitants of the parish of Buchanan still use for 
the same purpose. Tiie yew trees which shade the 
cemeteries of Clan Aipine, were dwindled by dis- 
tance to the size of shrubs and coppice wood.-— • 
There was something* peculiarly enchanting in the 
appearance of this cluster of islands. They seemed 
to (ioat in the golden radiance which burnished the 
still wMters around them, and called up the imageis 

21 * 



246 TOUR TO LOCH KATlUNfi 

which my youthful fancy had sketched, of the fa- 
bled isles of the blest. 

Before beginning the descent of the mountain we 
examined the few plants which are met with near 
the summit, or rather satisfied ourselves that there 
were none of any consequence to be examined. 
We saw merely the Rhodiola rosea on the brow of 
several rocks, and the hardy sibbaldia procumbens, 
vegetating in the bleakest possible positions. Lower 
down, we found a profusion of the rubiis chamoemo- 
rus, a diecious plant, of the bramble species, bear- 
ing a very palatable fruit which ripens about the 
middle of July. — Botanists speak of the different ha- 
bits which the same plant assumes, when growing in 
vallies or upon the tops of mountains. Such chan- 
ges undoubtedly take place, but Ben Lomond is 
scarcely Alpine enough to make any material trans- 
formation of the nature supposed. At least this is 
my impression, and it is founded upon the little that 
1 witnessed of the alchemilla and one or two other 
vegetables which, though natives of the plain, are 
seen growing spontaneously upon the sides of Ben 
Lomond, with aspects which it would require an 
eye more practised than mine to distinguish from 
those of the same species in the lower regions. On 
the skirts of the mountain and along the margin of 
the Loch, we saw several varieties of the Crj^pto- 
gamia class, — among them the royal flowering fern, a 
very pretty plant. 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 247 

Ben Lomond answers a more important end than 
merely administering food to the natural historian, 
or gratifying the taste of the lover of sublime sce- 
nery. To the inhabitants of the adjacent vallies, it 
serves as a barometer, and a very good one it proves. 
Whenever the air is highly transparent, and the 
mountain looms on the eye, and is seemingly magni- 
fied in its dimensions, rain is confidently predicted. 
On the contrary, when the atmosphere is hazy and 
the form and outline of the mountain are but dimly 
perceptible, appearing at a greater distance than 
usual, it is common to anticipate fair weather. It 
were to be wished that some such mountain were 
in yankee land, in order to save the meteorological 
calculations of a certain class of almanac seers, who 
are wont to fill up the blank spaces in the calendar 
of each month by gravely assuring the public that 
' they may expect a considerable spell of weather 
about this time.' 

I omitted to mention that our path up the moun- 
tain led us over several patches of ice and snow. 
Near the summit, we crossed some banks of very 
considerable depth, and our guide informed us that 
it was rare that these glacial streaks disappeared 
wholly before the summer solstice. From the plain, 
however, they are scarcely, if at all, discernible at 
present ; the snows which remain, being chiefly 
imbedded under overhanging ledges of rocks. The 
top of the mountain, I should add, we found dry ; 
the thin soil which was spread over it was slightly 



24S TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE 

tinned with the green of a few blades of short grass, 
as well as of the leaf of the Sibbaldia, which has 
been mentioned before. 

The descent of the mountain was very wearying, 
although accomphshed in much less time than we had 
employed in climbing it. There were two or three 
springs to which the guide had before conducted us, 
which we found it very convenient to revisit in our 
return. Mingbng the '• cordial drop' with the chrj'^s- 
tai water which bubbled from them, we succeeded 
with the aid of the little stock of provisions which 
we had taken with us, in repairing from time to time 
the partial exhaustion of our strength and spirits. 
We completed the laborious descent in season to en- 
joy, at the inn of Rowardennan, a dinner which we 
had ordered to be in readiness against our return, — 
and to embark for the opposite shore of the lake, 
just as the last beams of the sun were gilding the 
peaks of the surrounding mountains. 

We entered the boat with a throb of self gratu- 
lation in having accomplished what we were willing 
to consider, an undertaking of no small magnitude, 
— the toilsome ascent of Ben Lomond. But our 
complacency was soon damped, and the whole ex- 
ploit sadly cheapened in our estimation by the wag- 
srishness of our chief ferrvman. 

One of us asked him, ' if he had ever beea to the 
top x>f Ben Lomond V 

' No, sir,' said he archly. 



AND THE GRAMPIANS. 249 

' What not been to the top of Ben Lomond V — we 
both inquired, affecting a tone of much surprise. 

' No, gentlemen,' he replied ; ' but I have climb- 
ed many a mountain which 1 think much higher. I 
dare say that to you English travellers Ben Lomond 
may appear very well ; but take my word for it, he is 
one of the lightest fellows we have about here, — we 
think nothing of him.'^ 

' And pray, where are those fine mountains which 
you speak of?' 

' Why, look you yonder,' he rejoined, ' there are 
Ben Voirlich, and Benglo, and Bemwore, and further 
up, as you go to Fort William, you may see Ben 
Nevis, to say nothing of others. Why, sirs,' he add- 
ed, •• Ben Lomond is a mere baby compared with 
them.'' 

We could not however but think him rather big 
for a baby ; — he promises well at least. It so happen- 
ed, that during this conversation, we were sailing 
under the shadow of the mountain, — and from the 
point in which we were viewing it, it appeared to 
the finest advantage, towering majestically from the 
water's edge, and piercing the very clouds. 

The engagements of Mr. R***** admitting no lon- 
ger of his delaying his return to England, he had 
come to a determination of proceeding this evening 
to Luss, in order to take a conveyance the following 
morning, and commence his homeward route. Ac- 
cordingly we sailed to a point of land at a convenient 
distance from the village of Luss, where exchanging 



250 TOUR TO LOCH KATRINE, &c. 

the parting salutation of hon voyage^ we took leave 
of one another, — deeply to my regret. I returned 
in the boat to Tarbert, and have since made arrange- 
ments to proceed on the morrow to Inverary, the 
capital of the west highlands. Thence after a short 
stop, I shall continue my solitary way, and bend my 
steps towards the hills of Morven. 



A WAT 1 



A DAY IN LORN. 



It was about noon, when after a walk of ten miles, 
I arrived at a little eminence which looked down 
upon Lock Etive and the opening sound of Mull. 
The foot-path which I followed after leaving Kilch- 
renan, and the wild woody shores of Loch Awe had 
conducted me over a very rocky and mountainous 
country. It was not the direct route leading through 
Bunaw ; but one shorter and more sequestered which 
the shepherd's foot has chiefly beaten, saving that 
now and then it is paced by some adventurous po- 
ney at the imminent peril of his more adventurous 
master. 

Even to this path 1 was for from confining myself; 
but occasionally struck out a new track, and deviated 
as fancy and humour dictated. Mountains and moors 
and mosses were successively traversed ; and I felt 
a pleasure in bracing myself to the toils of a march 
which amply repaid my labour, in the various ob] 
jects of interest which from time to time caught the 
attentioq. 

22 



254 A DAY IN LORN. 

This whole section of country seems to have been 
more anciently peopled than any other part of Scot- 
land ; or at least to have been earlier rendered 
memorable. It is strewn with monuments of Pictish, 
Danish, and Druidical antiquity which read impres- 
sive lessons of the nothingness of earthly greatness, 
and demonstrate the pride and the littleness of man. 
I several times turned aside to inspect these remains, 
and surveyed them with no ordinary interest. — 1 have 
little of the zeal of an antiquarian about me, and per- 
haps not enough of his pruriency ; and yet I would 
any day deviate a full mile to see a solitary druid's 
. stone standing upon some lone heath, the memorial 
of a superstition once the terror and the curse of its 
votaries. 

It is true that reflection at such a spot is not al- 
ways of the most pleasurable nature. But it may be 
profitable ; — and from the contemplation of a moss- 
grown rock, made venerable by Its connection with 
an order of people that lived and moved and had a 
being, centuries out of mind ; — from a view of the 
scarcely distinguishable remains of a military mound 
which once braved the shocks, and outstood the tide 
of battles, but which has long been gradually wasting 
under the desolating hand of time ; — and even from 
the inspection of an humble sepulchral heap, — the 
grass-grown cairn^ — which marks the deposit of the 
ashes, perchance, of some cotemporary of an Oscar 
or a Fingal, — from any and all of these objects may 
a lesson be gathered of salutary import, and the 



A DAY IN LORN. 255 

* still small voice' which they utter, may awaken 
emotions in the breast, at once deep and solemn. 

I know not how the feeling arose, but during the 
walk every thing around seemed to tell me that I 
was approaching the land of Ossian. And when I 
reached the heath-skirted waters of Loch Etive, 
each feature in the landcape that met the eye, ser- 
ved to confirm, or rather heighten the impression. 
The whole was distinguished by an air of simple 
grandeur, altogether indescribable, but singularly 
affecting. — Beyond the opposite shores of the frith 
and at no great distance, were descried the hills of 
Morven ; and they answered well the description 
given them by the bard of Fingal. A hood of mist 
just then concealed their summits, which however 
soon shifted, and rolled in huge, massy folds around 
their craggy acclivities. On the left shore of the 
Loch and a league or two distant, stood the vene* 
rable ruin of Dunstaffnage ; and opposite, on the isle 
of Mull, appeared Castle Duart, an ancient fortress, 
that once served as the stronghold of a chieftain of 
a powerful clan, and is still used to garrison a few 
troops in the service of the king. 

The solitude which reigned over these monuments 
of a far gone antiquity comported well with the 
general grandeur of the scene. The onl}'^ discerni- 
ble habitations of a modern date, were a hut on the 
brae-side by which I descended to the Loch, and oB 
the other shore, a well constructed, stone building, 
which with the addition of a second story, and if« 



256 A DAY IN LORN. 

neat coat of white-wash, was readily recognised to be 
an highland inn. The latter house was pleasantly 
situated in the midst of a green velvet lawn, which 
sloped to the water's edge. Some straggling woods 
formed a selvage to this glade ; and rugged hills and 
"broken ridges of mountains constituted the back- 
ground. — It was a green spot in the desert, rendered 
interesting by the contrast which it bore to the sav- 
age wildness of the adjacent objects ; and no less 
so by the solid comforts which the little inn that 
crowned the centre, seemed to boast. 

I stopped for a moment at the hut mentioned 
above. It was a mere hovel. A little chubby-faced 
bairn of three or four, and a pair of well-fed pigs 
were the only inmates of the humble abode. — 1 en- 
deavoured to enter into something like conversation 
with the former,, but soon perceived that the latter 
were conversant with the most intelligible dialect ; 
— for what with a furious grunting and various 
significant menaces, too pointed to be mistaken, they 
gave me to understand that my presence was highly 
unwelcome. Accordingly I beat a retreat with as 
good a face as I could rally, not however without 
casting a second look around, which led me to suspect 
that my inhospitable reception M'^as in part owing to 
jealousy, lest I had come to share in the precious 
contents of a potatoe-pot which bubbled over the 
turf-fire, and which the young bairn, with his swinish 
associates, appeared to be stationed for the purpose 
of guarding. 



A DAY IN LORN. 257 

Arriving at the shore, and finding that the boats 
attached to the ferry were all on the other side, I 
contrived by waving an handkerchief, to make signal 
for a skiff to put ojff for my transportation. It was 
not long before a boat, manned by two brawny high- 
landers, was shoved from the beach and shot athw^art 
the rippling tide. It quickly returned with me, and 
a few minutes afterwards I was conducted to the inn 
whose neat and modest aspect had regaled my eye 
from the opposite shore. 

Near the ferry where I crossed, Loch Etive dis- 
charges itself into the sea, or more properly into 
an arm of it which runs up between Mull and 
nether Lorn. I observed a singular phenomenon 
produced by a contraction of the loch to an incon- 
siderable width compared with the expanse both 
above and below, which occasions the water to rush 
with much violence through the strait, and form what 
is called in America, a rapid. This rapid I was told, 
and the fact I afterwards witnessed, — becomes at 
half ebb a foaming waterfall > the height of which at 
spring tides, varies from six to eight feet. Connei, 
the name of the ferry, takes its etymology from this ; 
— being a derivative from Conf-huil which signifies a 
turbid flood or cataract. 

Through partially fatigued by my morning's ram- 
ble, I allowed myself little time to rest at the inn on 
my first arrival, but ordered a boat to take me down 
the Lake to Dunstaffnage. This venerable relic 
of the Auld Lang Syne had rivetted my attention al- 

22* 



253 A ©AY IN LORN. 

most from the moment it came in sight ; and I was 
impatient to take a nearer view. In distant pros- 
pect, especially seen from Connel ferrj, it appeared 
familiar to me ; and this, in consequence of an accu- 
rate engraving of the structure which I remembered 
to have seen accompanying Pennant's tour in Scot- 
land. 

This castle is situated in one of the finest possible 
positions. It is built on a rock not far from the 
mouth of Loch Etive, the shore of which there forms 
a beautiful curve, and the waters expand within to a 
noble bay. Its own height is commanding ; and the 
rock on which it stands having been hewn into a 
regular, square form, and made precipitous in order 
to conform to it in shape, — its apparent altitude is 
much greater than the true. The masonry is rude 
and clumsy; but a short distance off, this is not dis- 
cernible. All is then picturesque and lovely ; and 
at the little kej whence I embarked on my visit to it, 
there was a softness thrown over it, which was al- 
together enchanting. 

We landed under a rocky ledge, and climbing the 
bank struck into a gravelled foot-path, now much 
tangled, and nearly overgrown with weeds and grass. 
This led to the castle entrance, and terminated at a 
flight of steps, communicating with the interiour. 
Ascending these, I found myself within the court of 
the ruin ; and my eye roved eagerly over the mas- 
sive walls and tall battlemented towers with which T 
was encompassed. 



A DAY IN LORN. 259 

There was not much which called for particular 
attention. The building on three sides is little else 
than a shell ; although the walls are of surprising 
thickness. On the remaining side, it is preserved 
in tolerable repair. Lately, a convenient tenement 
has been erected against it, — forming a respectable 
appendage, and serving for a residence to the factor, 
or, to speak strictly, — a deputy of the factor of the 
Duke of Argyle, which nobleman is hereditary keep- 
er of Dunstaifnage under the crown. 

Permission was given me to ascend the walls and 
explore the ruin at my leisure. On a part of the 
ramparts, I stumbled upon a brass cannon, dismoun- 
ted, and well nigh imbedded in ivy. It was of very 
curious workmanship, and highly ornamented with 
appropriate devices, v.g. gorgon heads hypergriffs, 
et c(jet. The Dutch arms, or at least what I took to 
be such, were engraven upon it, and an inscription 
which I did not puzzle myself to construe, recorded 
probably the place and the artisan, where and by 
whom it was fabricated. 

By what means the cannon came there, I under- 
take not to divine. I confess however that I was 
sorry to meet with it ; for such was the force of as- 
sociation, and so much were my feelings under the 
influence of imagination that least of all, was I pre- 
pared to see the implements of modern warfare 
among the ruins of a pile which once was the abode 
of the Fergusses and Kenneths. Had a broken spear's 
head, or a fragment of a ' sounding shield' caught 



26d A DAY IN LORN. 

my eye — either would have been in unison with 
my feelings ; and they were probably the objects 
which I was insensibly expecting. Be that as it may, 
I called to mind that this was anciently the place of 
deposit for Jacob's Stone — once the palladium of 
Scotland ; — and that so iar as regards the security of 
Dunstaffnage, the place of the relique may be pro- 
perly enough supplied by this modern safeguard. 
The substitute inherits, no doubt, the tutelary virtue 
of its renowned predecessor. 

I enjoyed highly the view from the walls of the 
castle. The water prospect was grand; and on the 
other side, the steep and rugged headlands, the 
mountains and hills and vallies that stretched into 
an extensive landscape, were on a nobleness of scale, 
seldom matched. 

To the south of the castle and distant about an 
hundred yards, is a decayed, roofless building which 
I at first presumed to have been formerly a chapel ; but 
on a nearer view, it proved to be a sort of mausoleum, 
only instead of one tomb, man}' graves were included 
within it. A description which Buchanan has left of 
some ruinous structure in lona, answers very well to 
the appearance of this, being — ' a tombe of stain 
formit like a wee chapelle, with ane braid gray mar- 
belle or guhin stain on y^ gavil of ilk ane of y« 
tombes.'* — In this of Dunstaffnage, — the flag-stone 
pavement as well as the enclosing walls, is lettered 
with many an epitaph of the long forgotten dead. 

* Buchanan's account of lona, published in 1549. 



A DAY IN LORN. 261 

Like the mysterious roll of the prophet which was 
eovered within and without with mourning and la- 
mentation and woe, they tell the griefs of surviving 
relatives for the loss of affectionate kindred and dear- 
ly-loved associates, — relatives who themselves have 
long since paid the debt of nature, and whose mon- 
umental inscriptions in their turn, now ask ' the 
passing homage of a sigh.' 

On my return to Connel, one of the boatmen, to 
indulge his own garrulity, and haply at the same 
time to afford me entertainment, undertook to give 
an account of certain legends, current in the 
neighbourhood. 

First pointing my attention to the place where I 
had crossed the Lake, he asked in a tone of solem- 
nity, if I took notice of several rocks, which appear- 
ed in the rapids at equi-distances between the two 
banks ? I replied that I distinguished four ; and that 
those I had remarked when I first came down to the 
ferry, both from the singularity of their form and 
-position, and their close resemblance to each other. 

' And what is there further observable in respect 
to them,' I inquired ? 

' How did they come there ?' said he, ' you might 
rather ask.' 

On my changing the interrogatory in compliance 
with his suggestion, he replied, shaking his head, — 
'' no mortal hand ever put them there.' 

' And in truth so it would seem.' 



262 A DAY IN LORN. 

' Aye, sir,' was the answer, ' but you do not take 
my meaning. There was De'il's work in yonder af- 
fair.' 

' The Devil ? and so he has been sporting his 
pranks among j'^ou ?' 

The De'il has been amongst us, 1 very believe,' 
said the boatman very gravely, — ' but it is no sport 
when he makes Jiis appearance I can assure you, 
sir. Howbeit as for those rocks that I was speaking 
of, he only had his finger in that business. 1 hey 
say,' — he proceeded, lowering his voice, — ' that one 
black blasty night, a witch that was in league 
with Old Nick came to the Loch side to gain a pas- 
sage across. There was no ferry there then, and 
the water was very boisterous ; but the hag mutter- 
ed her spell, and a huge dam immediately rose at 
her bidding, and she crossed the Firth dry-shod.' 

' And I am to understand, that the stones which I 
see, are a remnant of that night's labour.' 

' You're right, you're right,' he answered ; ' the 
water being suddenly checked, gradually rose to the 
surface of the dam, and then rushed over it with such 
force that part of it was swept away. Those square 
rocks indeed were left; and enough of the whole 
remains to make the tumbling and foam in the wa- 
ter which you perceive ; — and a meikle tough pull, 
I trow does it make for us, whenever we attempt 
to fetch the boat across the current.' 

Finding that I had touched the right note in the 
gamut of my friend, the boatman, — (there was only 



A DAY IX LORN. 26« 

©ne other person in the skiff, who assisted in work- 
ing it, and he, not understanding English, merely 
spoke when interrogated in Gaslic by his companion 
respecting the accuracies of date or circumstance.) 
— I accordingly pursued my inquiries in relation to 
the popular superstitions of the vicinity. ' From the 
wonderful account friend, which you have just given 
me,' said I, ^ I am led to infer that evil spirits have 
been abroad among you, or at least that there have 
been those who have held correspondence with the 
prince of darkness.' ' Ah !' said he,' shame it is, to 
have happened; but in truth it is so. Witches were 
plenty in this country once ; Mull was full of them.' 

* And ! presume that you have treasured,' I con- 
tinued, ' many a rare story of their exploits.' 

' Oh, I know full enough of their doings. They 
carried on at a high rate, by my troth. 'J here was 
no escaping their clutches when once they had a 
mind to vex the pair people that lived in these 
parts.' — Then, with a stroke of his oar, shifting 
the head of the boat so as to bring the eastern pro- 
montory of Mull into a side-view, — ' yonder is Cas- 
tle Duart,' said he, ' and a flag which in a clear day 
may be seen waving over it, is the standard ot 
George of Hanover But long ago, that post was 
held by the chiefs of the clan M'Lean, — and a sad 
set they were in the olden age. 

' Once on a time,' he proceeded, (but not without 
fixing a twinkling grey eye keenly upon me, expect- 
ing, no doubt, that his words were ab©ut to " harrow 



264 A DAY IN LOKN, 

up my soul," and " freeze my young blood,").:*-* 
once on a time^ a daughter of the king of Spain 
came to visit Icolmkill, — where was in the auld days 
a monastery with scores of priests and monks ; — 
and daring her stay hereabouts she landed at Mull 
and visited M'Donald, lord of the Isles. He was a 
brave gallant, and entertained her very hospitably. 
But M'Lean was jealous of all this ; and moreverhe 
owed M'Donald a grudge from some quarrel they 
aforetime had. So one day, when there was a feast 
at Arros where M'Donald lived, he went there with 
a pack of carls — the veriest bairns of Satan, who 
always trooped at his heels, — and coming upon the 
company by surprise, succeeded after a short scuffle, 
in getting possession of the person of the princess, 
and carrying her off, along with M'Donald, to Castle 
Duart.' 

' Why that was a base deed, truly ; but what con- 
nexion had all this business with the agency of 
witches V 

' All in due course, sir,' said he — ' the result you 
will soon hear.' 

' M'Donald was put into the keep ; but the prin- 
cess, M'Lean treated very well, and wished to make 
her his wife. But when the news of what had hap- 
pened reached Spain,' — (by what channel was not 
mentioned) — ' the king was very wroth, and he im- 
mediately fitted out a great galley, and sent it to 
Mull, with orders to the chief officer, besides rescu- 
ing his daughter, to lay waste all M'Lean's posses^ 
Sions, and batter his castle about his ears." 



A DAY IN LORN. 265 

' And was M'Lean idle all the while ?' 

' Not he. He suspected that something was in the 
wind ; and therefore sent out and engaged all the 
witches between Andnacraig and Tabermawry to 
repair to Castle Duart ; and they consented to lend 
him a hand and defend him in case of extremity. 

' Well, the ship came and anchored under the cas- 
tle lee ; and a message was sent to M'Lean, to de- 
liver up the princess. He recked not for the sum- 
mons : and preparations were forthwith made on 
board the galley to assault the castle on the follow- 
ing day. 

* Now the captain himself was a witch^ (my in- 
formant by the bye, little heeded the distinctions of 
gender) and as he walked the deck in the evening, he 
was strangely disturbed and ordered a boy to mount 
to the mast head and inform him of what he saw. 
The boy obeyed, and reported that he spied a black 
crow hovering about the main peak. — Not long after 
he was again sent up, and descended saying that he 
saw two others in company with the former. — '• Well, 
well,' said the captain, — ' let 'em come ; they will 
find me a full match for them, though they seem to 
gather pretty fast.' — A third and a fourth time, the 
boy was ordered aloft, and announced that he saw 
another and another black crow ! 

' When the messenger had once more descended 
and said that there were six crows perched in differ- 
ent parts of the rigging, the captam cried out — 
' Lack-a-day ! we shall have hot work, I ken : but 

23 



266 A DAY IN LORN. 

never fear, my lad, I can manage these too.' — No- 
thing daunted the sailor-boy shortly run up the rat- 
lins again, in compliance with his master's wishes, 
and espied another and a seventh black crow ! This 
last intelligence filled the captain with dismay. — ' It 
is all over with us,' — he exclaimed ; ' the imps are 
too many for me. I could have coped with six of 
them; but seven black crows are quite an over- 
match !' 

/^ And it happened as he predicted. — The sky soon 
darkened ; — a tempest began to lower ; — the water 
assumed an inky hue, and shortly swelled into bil- 
lows ; — the cable parted from the prow ; — the galley 
was whirled round and round, — and in no long time, 
it sunk amid the waves, and not a soul on board 
escaped to tell the horrors of the catastrophe !' 

' You really relate a marvellous occurrence,' said 
I to the boatman, when he had finished his tragic 
tale, — ' and do you honestly believe it to be true ?' 

' True, sir ; true !' he repeated, (at the same time 
suspending the operation of rowing, as if overcome 
with astonishment at my skepticism ;) — ' as true, sir, 
as that you are a southron.""^ 

' Why, you mistake me, Mr. Boatman ; if I may 
judge by the emphasis of your manner. I did not 
mean to imply a shadow of doubt on my part 

* The Highland Scotch call all indiscriminately Southrons 
who are supposed to live between the waters of Teith and 
the English channel. The Lowlanders confine the term to those, 
who reside to the southward of the river Tweed. 



A DAY IN LORN. 26T 

respecting the authenticity of what you have just 
communicated; but only wished to ascertain the 
stren«^th of your own faith." 

He shook his head ; — and in fact the whole was no 
apocrypha to him ; but was as confidently believed 
in, as the creed of the kirk-covenanters. 

' But have you any witches or wizards,' I asked, 
* now-a-days among you ?' 

' Oh, no ;' said he, ' thank God they have all dis- 
appeared. Since I was a boy, there iiave been none 
in these parts, — at least none that have worked us 
any mischief.' 

' And how do you account for this ?' 

' With leave, sir,' he replied, — ' that is a very 
simple question. When the De'il was abroad with 
his charms, and familiar spirits were common in the 
land, 'twas in the day of the Stuarts. They cared 
nothing about the preaching of the gospel ; and 
minded little how the puir people suffered for want 
of godly ministers and chapels, and sic like. But 
when the Georges of Hanover came to the throne, 
then ministers were sent among us, and churches 
were built, and christian bells were sounded, — and 
so the old haggles all fled. Tor they would as lief 
smoke in the De'il's linn as come within the hearing 
of the kirk-bells.' 

Whilst I was musing upon the philosophy of this 
explanation, and ruminating on the general train of 
sentiment with which I had been edified, the boat 
was fast approaching the little pier from which I had 
taken my departure. 



368 A DAY IN LORN. 

The weather after my leaving" Dunstaffnage had 
been singularly changeful, — alternately fair, misty 
and showery, — so that every few minutes I was 
obliged to spread an umbrella in order to be screen- 
ed from a smart fall of rain ; after which in no long 
time, the sun would break from the clouds and shine 
for an interval, with great splendour. Morvern was 
several times totally shrouded in vapour ; and again 
its towering summits were seen with perfect distinct- 
ness. — Despite of the prosing of the boatman, and 
the amusing quaintness of many of his remarks, I 
was glad to shift my situation ; and well pleased to 
escape from further exposure to the fitful changes of 
sky and weather — to the snug quiet of the little ian 
of Connel. 



%' 



TO THE 



GRAVE OF COL. GARDINER, 



23 * 



ISl^ 



TO THE 



GRAVE OF COL. GARDINER 



r AR be from me and my friends,' said Johnson, 
' such frigid philosophy as may conduct us, indif- 
ferent and unmoved, over any ground that has been 
dignified by wisdom, bravery or virtue. That man 
is Uttle to be envied, whose patriotism would not 
gain force upon the plains of Marathon, or whose 
piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of 
lona.' 

The sentiment which breathes through this noble 
passage is one which finds a response in the bosoms 
of most men. It is not the few but the many who 
feel the power ot association adding new interest to 
the scenes of distingU'shed events ; and who expe- 
rience unwonted kindlings of pleasurable sensibility 
in surveying spots where deeds of ' high emprise' 
have been achieved : and where the wise and the 
good have toiled and suffered in the cause of huma- 
nity. The imagination at such times practises upon 



272 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

our feelings. We yield ourselves up voluntarily to 
its sway ; and the mind becomes the sport of fancy. 

To analyze the satisfactions which spring from 
this source, is a curious but no easy problem. It is 
enough for the present purpose to observe, that in 
general they are purely factitious. This is appa- 
rent from the emotions awakened b}'^ the review of 
any scene of battle. — The traveller who crosses a 
field whereon some hard-fought conflict was once 
waged, if ignorant of the events which there took 
place, beholds it with no other concern than that 
which its natural aspect or local characteristics may 
call forth. But let him be told that there two pow- 
erful armies once commingled in deadly strife ; that 
there mighty feats of martial daring have been 
wrought ; and that there amid many a ' glorious 
danger,' has the blood-stained laurel been gathered, 
— and how different the feelings which then swell in 
the breast.— If haply the muse has sung of those 
proud achievements ; — and if too, the creative fan- 
cy of the poet has ' bodied forth' scenes of its own 
conception, and interwoven them with descriptions 
of sober fact, the individual contemplates with still 
deeper attention the little circumscribed spot which 
accident has thus signalised. 

But in most cases, the ideal gratification so afford- 
ed is of short continuance ; and the feelings where- 
in it is founded, seldom admit of being similarly ex- 
erted by a second view of the self-same objects and 
scenes. — There is one spot, however, which can 



OF COL. GARDINER. 275 

ever be visited with emotions equally lively, though 
solemn. It is the grave of the christian hero ; and 
there is not the man, I conceive, who is endued 
with the least portion of sensibility, that can contem* 
plate with indiiference the green turf which fresh- 
ens over the mortal remains of one who in life was 
honoured, and in death bewailed. The interest, in 
fact, which the mind then feels, originates more or 
less in sympathy. Death being a lot common and 
inevitable to all, we naturally look upon the grave 
as a memento of our own frailty. It is another tro- 
phy, commemorative of another triumph, which the 
king of terrors has won over a fellow-mortal ; and 
it sternly reminds us that ere long we too shall fall 
under the power of the same ruthless foe, and a 
new monument shall be reared over our wasting 
frames. 

At the grave of the truly good man, moreover, a 
lesson, directly beneficial, may be acquired. — Re- 
flection on the virtues which fitted him for the 
change of death, naturally prompts within us the 
pious resolve, so to discipline ourselves in the du- 
ties of the moral man, as that, like him, we may 
await with calmness and intrepidity of soul the arri- 
val of the hour when we shall be required to bid 
adieu to present scenes, — and when our own mortal 
bodies will be consigned to darkness and to dust. 

There is beside all this, an illusion which I am 
ever wilHng to indulge at such a consecrated spot. 
When I approach the hallowed depository of the 



274 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

remains of the virtuous and excellent, I fancy my- 
self to be brought into something like a nearness to 
the individuals themselves. Imagination calls up 
their departed shades, and enters, as it were, into 
converse with them. Nor can 1 easily divest myself 
of the persuasion that the disinthrailed spirit that 
once animated a body of clay still hovers around the 
spot where its earthly tabernacle is laid, and that it 
shares intuitively in the consciousness of those who 
repair thither to meditate on distinguished excel- 
lence, or to drop a tear to departed worth. 

Influenced by some such feelings as I have at- 
tempted to express. I resolved the other day, on a 
visit to Tranent church-yard, to explore the burial- 
place of the celebrated Col. Gardiner. 

From my earliest years I have been taught to re- 
vere the memory of that great man. Great, I will 
call him ; for j believe him to have been eminently 
good. And if the simple, but touching narrative of 
his life and conversation, as traced by the pen of the 
pious Doddridge, be entitled to any credit, — it is 
impossible to doubt, that from the period of his con- 
version, he was no less pre-eminently faithful as a 
soldier of the Cross, than distinguished for his 
valour and loyalty in the service of his earthly 
prince. 

1 am well aware that there are those who reject 
the marvels in the life of Gardiner, which his bio- 
grapher, nevertheless, has made no scruple in re- 
cording. The preternatural manner in which a 



OF COL. GARDINER. 275 

happy change of his moral temper and feelings and 
habits is related to have suddenly taken place, is 
distrusted by some, and avowedly disbelieved by 
others. And many to account, — effectually as they 
pretend, — for the seeming miraculousness of the as- 
serted chang-e, maintain that the impression suppo- 
sed to have been made upon his wakmg senses, was 
only the idle wandering of a dream. 

I am not disposed to enter into a discussion on 
these topics ; much less to contest formally the 
point with those who will have it, that nothing su- 
pernatural was sensibly presented to the gaze of the 
convert to produce the change which, it is agreed, 
actually took place. I cannot, nevertheless, relin- 
quish the opportunity to remark that in my own 
humble judgment, the difhculty in the case is by no 
means removed, by resolving the overpowermg in- 
fluence which all at once was made upon the mind 
of Gardiner, into some of the accidental phenome- 
na of sleep, rather than into the realities of a wak- 
ing consciousness. The Sovereign Disposer of 
events can no less effectually, as well as miraculous- 
ly operate on the human heart when the bodily fa- 
culties are locked up in slumber, than when there 
is an entire and indisputable exercise of its powers 
in a state of watchfulness. — Besides, every eifect 
must have an adequate cause ; and a complete trans- 
formation of character, from profligacy to purity of 
moral demeanor, is a result too great to be brought 
about by the idle vagaries, or some fortuitous im- 



276 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

pulse, of a dream. Such an event would be a mi- 
racle with a witness. 

To me it appears that much of the reluctance 
which exists, to accredit the sudden marvellous 
change which Doddridge describes to have been 
wrought on the character of his friend, is ascribable 
to the gross abuses to which the doctrine, which it 
is oftentimes brought to prove, is confessedly liable. 
The impositions which have been palmed upon the 
credulity of mankind under the name of conversions, 
have occasioned in many minds an utter skepticism 
respecting the truth and genuineness of any. But 
the falsity of a thousand cases will not necessarily 
disprove a single one so well attested as is the in- 
stance of Col. Gardiner. The testimony of his bio- 
grapher is at least too high to be set aside by a 
mere unsupported negatur. And to an unprejudiced 
mind it would seem, that to question the reality of 
his conversion, — a conversion, moreover, effected in 
a way the most extraordinary, — is, at best, a dis- 
pute about words. For, certain it is, that in early 
life Gardiner was noted for his libertinism and irreli- 
gion ; and certain it equdliy is that from and after a 
given period he was proverbially exemplary in the 
discharge of every moral and religious duty. For 
the space of six and twenty years, he steadily evinc- 
ed the sincerity of his christian professions, in des- 
pite of the most trying temptations and discourage- 
ments ; and the faith which he espoused he labour- 
ed assiduously to adorn and recommend.~Nor were 



OF COL. GARDINER. 277 

his efforts unavailing. The influence which he en- 
joyed in the elevated station wherein he moved, was 
successfully appUed to the promotion of the moral 
welfare of those on whom that influence could act ; 
and thus through his single instrumentality were the 
blessings of religion more extensively diff'used, and 
many a stubborn knee was made to bow in humble 
reverence at the foot of the Redeemer's cross. 

A friend who entertained for the memory of Gar- 
diner a veneration allied to my own, was induced to 
accompany me on my visit to the place of his sepul- 
ture. The excursion which we projected enabled 
us to embrace other objects besides that particularly 
contemplated ; and chiefly the field of Preston Pans, 
where the hero fell ; — and where on the same occa- 
sion, the forces of the Pretender gained a decisive 
victory over the royal troops. 

We entered a coach in High-street, and took seats 
for Musselburgh. Leaving the city by the Canon- 
gate, we proceeded through a beautiful country, 
first to Porto Belio, — a pleasant village, the minia- 
ture of Margate, — celebrated tor its excellent baths, 
and the Bethesda virtue of its waters. 

Continuing our route, we passed two or three ele- 
gant villas ; one of which was the seat of the Mar- 
quis of Abercorn. Not long after, the North Esk 
was met, which we crossed by a neat stone bridge, 
and entered Musselburgh. There we left our con- 
veyance, and prepared to accomplish the residue 
of our excursion on foot. 
24 



278 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

The morning being lowering we provided our- 
selves with umbrellas ; — and leaving Musselburgh, 
bent our steps towards the village of Preston Pans. 
The walk led us along the sea-coast, and afforded se- 
veral picturesque views of the Islands of the Forth, 
with the opposite coast of Fife. Edinburgh, with 
its amphitheatre of hills, formed a noble object to 
the north. 

We crossed a corner of Pinkie field, where the 
battle of that name was fought between the Scots 
and English, in the middle of the sixteenth century; 
and two miles further, we arrived at Preston Tower, 
rendered famous by the more eventful action of 
1745. The battle ground comprehended the site 
of this tower, and stretched to the southward and 
westward of it. The surface of the land is uneven 
and waving ; and slopes gradually from some heights 
on which the village of Tranent is built, to the shores 
of the Frith of Forth. The ground is now well 
tilled ; and intersected with many quick-hedges. 

We had walked over a part of the field when a 
shower overtook us ; and we were constrained to seek 
shelter under the lee side of a hawthorn row, about 
a stone's cast from the venerable ' Thorn 1 ree be- 
sides the meadow-mill.' Our covert being on the 
declivity of a rising ground which commanded a 
view of the scene of combat, we were enabled to 
calculate the relative advantages and disadvantages 
of the positions occupied by the two armies anterior 
to the engagement. The odds in this respect were 
manifestly against the EngUsh ; but yet this is 



OF COL. GARDINER. 27« 

by no means sufficient to account for the shameful 
reverse which their arms sustained on this fatal field. 
They were probably dispirited by being withheld 
from engaging the enemy on the night preceding 
the general conflict, notwithstanding their expressed 
wishes to that eifect ; — a measure which Gardiner 
himself strongly urged ; and had his prudent and he- 
roic counsel been followed, victory might not only 
have declared itself in favour of the loyalists, but 
his own valuable life been preserved, the sacri- 
fice of which is enough to render forever hateful the 
memory of the rebel cause.* 

We were not long confined to our shelter. The 
passing cloud soon spent itself; and we resumed our 
walk towards Tranent kirk. When we reached the 
church yard, we looked eagerly round for some 
sculptured monument which might betoken the 
tomb of Gardiner. We agreed to prosecute the 

* The irresolute conduct of the insurgents after their success 
at Preston Pans, evinced a fatuity no less surprising than the 
pusillanimous conduct of the English in battle. Had they, 
instead of investing the Castle of Edinburgh, and inactively 
awaiting its reduction, by one bold push marched direct for Eng- 
land, the capital of the United Kingdom would most probably 
have fallen into their hands, and perhaps a Stuart been once more 
seated upon the throne of the British realm. But want of con- 
sistency and vigour in their schemes, led to speedy disaster and 
defeat; and the measures which they resorted to for the pur- 
pose of accomplishing their revolutionary aims, not only result- 
ed in their own utter discomfiture, but in the augmented stability 
and triiimnhaut ascendant of the house of Brunswick. 



280 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

quest separately ; and selecting different portions of- 
the ground, were each emulous to anticipate the 
other in making* the desired discovery. But our re- 
spective searches were fruitless. The many epi- 
taphs on which the eye hastily glanced, were chief- 
ly remembrancers of those who, '' alike to fortune 
and to fame unknown,' had lived and died upon the 
spot where they had been born. Some records 
there were of the virtues and excellencies of a ieyv^ 
who were gone to inherit in a better world the re- 
compence for which they had toiled, and that happi- 
ness which had been denied to them in this ; but 
among the inscriptions which caught the gaze in 
every direction, there was none that told the death, 
or rehearsed the transcendent excellence of Gar- 
diner. 

Disappointed and surprised, we enquired of an el- 
derly man who chanced to pass near the cemetery, if 
he could point out the spot where Colonel G. was 
interred ? He said that ' he had heard that some 
meikle officer, that had been slain on yon field, had 
been buried in or anent the kirk, but where, he nae 
ke'nPd.'* — Shortly after, we hailed another passenger 
and addressed the same enquiry, not however with 
equal hope of satisfaction, as he belonged to a later 
generation. The question was listened to with a 
look expressive of the vacancy of ignorance ; and 
after a moment's pause, as if for the purpose of 
tasking his memory, he replied, that he had never 
heard of such a man ! 



OP COL. GARDINER. 28l 

Notwithstanding these disheartening answers, we 
were not disposed to relinquish enquiry. Possibly, 
thought we, the tomb we seek may be within the 
walls of the church. To ascertam this point, I ap» 
plied at a neighbouring house, which proved to be 
the manse, (^anglice^ a parsonage ;) the lady of which 
with great civility gave the information desired. 
She stated that the remains of Colonel G. were en- 
tomed without the kirk ; and apprised me of some 
particulars which might identify the spot. The lady 
added, that the house which she then occupied was 
the one to which he was borne after the battle, and 
where he breathed his last. 

During the conversation, an aged, decrepit wo- 
man was seen moving up the village hill, in a direc- 
tion towards the church. Her hgure was bent low 
with years ; and a staff supported her tottering steps. 
— ' There' said my kind informant ' is Mistress* 

; she supplies the place of parish beadle : — 

and gladly will she conduct you to the spot you are 
in search of.' 

Rejoining my companion, I acordingly put myself 
under the guidance of the sybil, whose appearance 
indicated that at least for two generations she had 
been the ' sad historian of the pensive plain.' The 
sight of a piece of Silver brightened her rheumy eye, 

* The Scotch in general, pronounce Mrs. like the word from 
which it is contracted, in the manner written above ;— as, Jlfw- 
stress A., Mistress B., Hic. 

24 * 



282 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

and quickened partially the movements of her limbs, 
as we again entered (^Teucro auspice,) on the church- 
yard way. 

Arrived at the spot, she pointed to a gentle rising 
on the surface of the green earth ; — ' that' said she, 
' is the grave of Gardiner.' ' And is that all ?' — we 
both exclaimed. — ' That's all,' was the answer. And 
most true it is, that no monument, not even a stone 
marks the ground where sleeps this extraordinary 
man, a man, whom Caledonia may well be proud to 
have enrolled among her best and bravest sons. I 
beheld, however, the naked turf with veneration ; 
and dropped upon it a spontaneous tear to the me- 
mory of the blest — the sainted Gardiner. 

The dame asserted that there never had been a 

monument erected over the grave of G . 

Formerly indeed, she said, the spot where he lies 
was much more distinctly marked ; but about eigh- 
,teen years since, the church was altered and much 
of it rebuilt; and being near the Colonel's grave, 
the latter was often trampled upon, and the heap 
^nearly levelled. That no more respect has ever 
been paid to the place of his ashes, — that not even 
a humble, sepulchral tablet attests its identity — may 
iastly excite our wonder when we reflect that inde- 
pendently of his noble* connexions, and the high 

* Colonel Gardiner was married to the Right Hon. Lady Frances 
Ersldne, sister of the late Earl of Buchan, and aunt to the pre- 
sent Lords Buchan and Erskine. 



OF COL. GARDINER. 283 

military station which he filled, (that of full Colonel 
of a regiment of dragoons, an office, generally held 
by persons of titled rank,)— all the honour, or rather 
redemption from complete disgrace, which redound- 
ed to the arms of his sovereign in the action where- 
in he fell, was due to himself alone. But his illus- 
trious name requires not the factitious aid of brass or 
marble to give it perpetuity. On the page of hfe, 
it is inscribed in characters never to be erased ; — 
and upon earth, so long as religion shall have its 
votaries, or piety be revered, it shall be cherished 
in devout remembrance. 

Ne'er to the chambers where the mighty rest, 
Since their foundation came a nobler guest ; 
And ne"'er to bovvers of bliss has been conveyed 
A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade. 

TicktWs El. on Addison. 

Leaving the church yard, we commenced our re- 
turn-walk to Musselburgh. We made a slight detour 
in order to view Bankton House, the property of 
Colonel Gardiner during the last years of his life. 
It is situated about a mile from Tranent, and not far 
from the scene of his death. It is remarkable that 
the wall which encloses the outer park attached to 
the residence, is one of the boundaries of PrestoQ 
fields. It was against it that the hero made his last 
stand, when he rallied the little band which alone re- 
mained true to him j and there it was that he poured 



284 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

out his life-blood, litefally in defence of his ' home 
and his fireside,' no less than of his country and his 
God. 

The house and grounds of Bankton, have un- 
dergone little alteration since the days of Gardi- 
ner. The former is a neat commodious mansion, 
constructed of stone in an antiquated taste, with an 
high pediment in the roof both in the front and rear. 
A range of offices extends on either side, answering 
each to the otber, aad termmated by small towers. 
There is an extensive enclosure of grass land roand 
the house, planted with noble trees, chiefly beech, 
elms and yews. An aveaue of these leads from the 
main gate-way to the door of the mansion. They 
have attained a great age ; and make a stately and 
venerable appearance* 

As soon as the battle of Preston Pans turned in 
favour of the rebels, a party of them entered and 
sacked Bankton house. The colonel's papers were 
destroyed, or scattered in confusion. Every article 
of value was pillaged, even, says his biographer, 
* to the curtains of the beds and hangings of the 
rooms.' The house itself was converted into an 
hospital for the reception of the wounded in the 
battle. 

If any thing could have added to the grief of Lady 
Gardiner and her surviving offspring in the irrepara- 
ble loss sustained by the death of colonel G., it 
must have been these deeds of outrage and rapine 
committed by the insurgents. For the first event, — 
namely, a final separation from her loved and hon- 



OF COL. GARDINER. 285 

oured partner, the former seems to have heen in 
some measure prepared by the affecting mterview 
which she is described to have had with him in Stir- 
ling castle, a few days prior to the battle, — when he 
spoke as though confidently anticipating his end to be 
near. But she little imagined the circumstances of 
barbarity with which his death was to be accompa- 
nied ; nor the depredations and excesses which the 
lawless hand of a cruel soldiery were shortly to 
commit in the very bosom of that home, where he 
had spent his happiest, holiest hours. But under 
the augmented weight of her affliction Lacly G. 
bore up with a fortitude seldom surpassed; and such 
proofs of exalted piety did she exhibit during the 
series of years she survived in widowhood, that her 
name is still precious in the remembrance of many, 
and a new lustre thereby added to the name of Gar- 
diner. 

I cannot leave the present subject without ex- 
pressing the satisfaction which I have experienced, 
in common doubtless with others, in recognising in 
a seemingly fictitious character introduced in the 
popular work of VVaverley, the identical personage 
on whose character I have been remarking. The 
colonel G. whom the author alluded to, intro- 
duces as the commander of the regiment, in which 
his youthful hero was commissioned, is the self- 
same colonel Gardiner who is eulogized by Dod- 
dridge, and who fell a martyr to his loyalty on the 
field of Preston Pans. His character, thouj^-h not 
studiously portrayed, is finely and accurately touched 



286 VISIT TO THE GRAVE 

by the writer ; and whenever mention is made of 
him it is in terms of distinguished respect, 

I am free to confess indeed that on my first open* 
ing ' Waverley' that best, perhaps, of those singular- 
ly happy and entertaining productions which have of 
late flowed from the pen of some mysterious Un- 
known,* and finding that the venerated Gardiner 
was brought upon the tapis for the purpose of play- 
ing some conspicuous part, — I was fearful that in 
the jostling and collision of events which it was na- 
tural to anticipate, — all that respect might not be 
shewn to his character which it justly claims ; and 
that possibly its dignity might be lowered amid the 
changeful scenes in which he would be made to 
act. But in this, I did injustice to the designs of 
the excellent author in question. The simple, un- 
altered character of Gardiner, — in itself sufficiently 
romantic — he clearly saw to be admirably adapted 
to the genius of his conceived work ; and availing 
himself of its native proportions, he has brought it to 
bear with striking effect upon a variety of particular 
incidents, as well as upon the general fabric and tis- 
sue of his story. The remarks passed upon colonel 
G. when his name first occurs in one of the 
introductory chapters of Waverley, cannot fail to 
awaken a strong interest in him, in the bosom of the 

* The above remarks were written at a time when the public 
mind was divided as to the author of Waverley and the other 
< Scotch novels,' so called. It is unnecessary to add, that at 
present, there is no shadow of reasonable doubt that the writer 
is any other than Sir Walter Scott. 



OF COL. GARDINER. 287 

reader. The danger depicted to have happened to 
him on the eve of preparation for engaging with 
the rebels, when, mounted on a gallant steed and 
distinguished by his commanding form, he rode lei- 
surely over the battle-ground, and inspected the ene- 
my's position, — deepens the solicitude which we are 
made to feel in his behalf. And in the detail of the 
events of that fatal day which transmitted him to his 
immortal crown, this solicitude is still further aug- 
mented ; and concern for his welfare divides, and 
for an interval, well nigh engrosses all our sympa- 
thies. With a painful interest the imagination fol- 
lows him through the perils which fast thickened 
around him : and when at length the author paints 
the death-scene, when he represents the hero as 
falling covered with wounds and sinking under the 
tide of battle, so powerfully does he appeal to the 
finer sensibilities within us, that cold must that heart 
be which does not swell with unwonted emotion — 
unmelting that eye which is not moistened with a 
tear* of sympathising sorrow. 

But I must bring my remarks to a close. From 
some early association, I know not how acquired, 
every thing which recals the remembrance of the 
subject of the foregoing reflections, I dwell upon 
with a kindling satisfaction ; and the very name of 
Gardiner exerts a magic influence over my heart 

* A stroke with a Lochaber axe is supposed to have inflicted 
the mortal wound. A weapon of this name is shewn in the 
Tower of London said to be the self-same instrument which 
occasioned the colonel's death. 



288 VISIT TO THE GRAVE OF COL. GARDINER. 

and feelings. It is an influence to which I am wil- 
ling to submit. For never can I contemplate the 
brightness of his example from the period when re- 
ligion first found a lodgment within his bosom, with- 
out perceiving a new lovelmess in christian piety. 
Never can I reflect on his unshaken firmness of 
soul, his magnanimity in the hour of death, without 
silently ejaculating, ' Let me die the death of that 
righteous man.' And never can I ponder the prin- 
ciple which lent him support in that awful juncture, 
without breathing an impassioned aspiration that the 
same principle may sustain my own soul in the near 
prospect of the future world, and point out to my 
own, as to his enraptured gaze, — ' The chariot of 
Israel and the horsemen thereof 

It was not until the day had far declined, that my 
friend and myself completed our walk over the 
scenes I have attempted to sketch. We reached 
Musselburgh in convenient season to insure a con- 
veyance to the city in the evening coach. We left 
that village as the sun's parting rays glanced upon 
the ridge of the Pentlands. It was an enchanting 
evening. The clouds which canopied the setting 
luminary were decked with gorgeous colourings. 
The air wafted a balmj'^ fragrance ; and the face of 
nature around smiled with the returning signs of 
vernal freshness and verdure. An hours ride 
brought us to the end of our stage, and we alighted 
at our quarters in the New Town. 

Edinburgh, March, 1817. 



PILGRIMAGE 



TO 






AND 



DRYBURGH ABBIES. 



»6 



^la^miMA© 



TO 



MELROSE AND DRYBURGH ABBIES, 



JULY, 1817. 

A FEW days ago, being then on the eve of my final 
departure from Scotland, I made an hasty excursion 
into Tweeddale. My object was twofold. 1 was 
desirous of viewing Melrose Abbey ruins, and also of 
paying my respects to the noble proprietor of Dry- 
burgh, who had honoured me with repeated invita- 
tions to visit him at his manor on Tweedside. 

I left Edinburgh in a morning coach for Selkirk, 
and traced thus far a route familiar to me. About 
six or seven miles from Selkirk, where the Tweed 
first makes its appearance, I entered upon the Scot- 
tish Arcadia. Under this appellation may be com- 
prehended the whole of that lovely tract of country 
which begins with the sources of the Yarrow, Et- 
trick and Teviot waters, and following the windings 
of those streams until their junction with Tweed, 
next spreads itself along the margin of the latter 
through the remainder of its course. The scenery 
within this district is distinguished for its romantic 
and pastoral beauties; and to these the muse has 



nZ PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

added new charms by the many interesting associa- 
tions in which she has invested them. 

From the place where Tweed came in sight, the 
road followed its bank for several miles. It parted 
from it a mile or two distant from Selkirk, and 
shortly after crossed the river Ettrick, not far from 
its union with the other stream. The town of Sel- 
kirk is pleasant. It is situated on an eminence ; and 
to one approaching it from the north is a fine ob- 
ject. 

Leaving the coach at Selkirk, and having ordered 
dinner at a late hour, I rambled out to survey what- 
ever of interest I might find in the environs. Re- 
crossing the Ettrick, I struck into a footpath on the 
left, which was seen threading its way through the 
green sward which carpeted the borders of the 
stream. In the meanderings of this stream there 
was a peculiar prettiness. Its waters, too, were ve- 
ry limpid ; and these sparkled in the sun-beam as 
they brawled petulantly along, and hurried over the 
few obstacles which they encountered in their 
course. The Ettrick abounds with excellent trout j 
and during the walk I passed several men who were 
angling for them. Along the riverside are fine ver- 
dant meadows, and fields which are beginning to 
wave with an abundant harvest. — I know not how it 
happened, but there was something connected with 
the appearance of the Ettrick which carried me 
back forcibly in imagination to the banks of the 
dearly-loved stream which flows through my native 
Tillage. For a moment I forgot that 3000 miles in- 



AND DRYBURGH ABBIES. 293 

tervened between me and home. Distance was no 
longer remembered. Years too rolled back ; the 
halcyon scenes of my boyish sports rushed vividly 
to my mind ; and I almost fancied that I was again 

treading upon the margin of the peaceful N , 

where 



Oft my careless childhood strayed, 
A stranger yet to pain. 



The illusion was of short continuance, but it left 
an impression on my feeUngs which served greatly 
to heighten the interest of surrounding scenes. Hav- 
ing walked two miles or more along the Ettrick, I 
came to its confluence with Yarrow, and obtained 
my first view of that romantic little stream. It is 
somewhat smaller than the Ettrick, but rolls its clear 
and rapid current through as pretty a channel. Its 
banks are fringed with copse-wood; the bougls of 
which dip in the water, as if wooing the stream 
which lends them support. 

Yarrow joined the Ettrick on the side by which 
I walked ; and leaving the latter, I then followed 
the course of the former stream. 1 he path con- 
ducted me to a very neat stone bridge, which com- 
municates with Bowhill, a noble estate, with plea- 
sure-grounds, belonging to the duke of Buccleugh. 
I crossed to the other side, and surveyed the grounds. 
They are laid out with taste, and are planted at in- 
tervals with noble ibrest trees. — Pursuing my walk 
a mile or two further, I arrived at a venerable and 

25 * 



294 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

statel^y ruin which occupies a commanding position 
upon one of the braes of Yarrow. This was New- 
ark's Tower; the same to which Scott makes the 
Minstrel arrive, who sung his last Lay to the hos- 
pitable proprietors of this then proud baronial pile. 
The tower is square and lofty : in the walls are ma- 
ny loop-holes, and a few narrow window-spaces, 
long since un-latticed, which contribute to give a 
very dreary and cheerless aspect to the whole struc- 
ture. The walls of the main entrance are greatly 
dilapidated. 

The pond'rous gate and massy bar, 
Which once roird back the tide of war, 

have long since crumbled into ruin. At present, in 
place of the ancient portal, is only a wooden wicket, 
which opens into an area, which a neighbouring 
peasant has appropriated for a sheep-fold. 

The scenery in the immediate vicinity is very 
picturesque. I looked round for the ' lowly bow- 
er' of the Minstrel, and the ' little garden trimmed 
with green ;' but though I saw several cots, and as 
many neatly cultivated enclosures, any one of which 
might once have been the property of the bard, 
there was no one which 1 felt absolutely authorized 
to identify as his. Yarrow, however, as it gushed 
merrily through the green-wood, seemed to prolong 
the minstrels melody; and a kindred bard might 
perhaps have recognised in its gurgling, the blith- 
some echo of the Lav. 



AND DRYBURGH AliBIES. 295 

It was not till evening had set in, that I thought 
of retracing my steps to Selkirk. With a feeling of 
regret, 1 commenced my homeward walk ; and about 
dusk, reached my lodgings, after a romantic ramble 
of nine miles. 

On the following morning I walked to Melrose, a 
few miles distant from Selkirk. The road lay along 
Tweaddale, scarcely leaving the bank of the river, 
and then only diverging for a few yards. The val- 
ley was exceedingly beautiful, and answered well 
the anticipations which t had formed of its attrac- 
tions from the high panegyrics which 1 had often 
heard lavished upon it. The Tweed even here, is 
not a large, but it is a very respectable and showy 
stream. It abounds with substantial comforts too : 
salmon being plenty in its waters, as well as several 
other species of the finny tribes. Of the former, 
numbers were seen sporting near the surface of the 
river, and occasionally leaping from its limpid 
wave. 

The village of Melrose is neat and compact, plea- 
santly situated on Tweedside, at the feet of the Eil- 
don hills. The celebrated Abbey adjoins, and over- 
looks the town. It is moulderina: into ruin. Lar^e 
portions of the wall, much of the roof, and several 
of the old towers have fallen in. Grass and small 
shrubs are growing luxuriantly upon the tops of 
such parts of the edifice as remain entire. I ascend- 
ed one of the most perfect of the towers, — an un- 
dertaking attended with little pleasure, and conside- 
rable hazard. 



296 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

Seen from any point of view the tout ensemble of 
the structure is solemn and impressive. It is impos- 
sible to approach and witness it without strong and 
deep emotion. So often however has the Abbey 
been described by tourists that it needs no further 
comment, even for the sake of refreshing my own 
memory. I merely add, therefore, that in explor- 
ing the several parts of the Abbey, 1 could not for- 
get the grave of Michael Scott. The guide, in lead- 
ing me to it, conducted me by the very aisle, along 
which 

With snow-white stoles and order due, 
The holy Fathers two and two 
In long procession came. 

Many stories of the exploits of Michael Scott are 
current in this section of the country. It is believed 
that he was buried in the Abbey of Melrose, though 
in what part of it is not so easy to determine with 
precision. To ascertain the actual spot of his in- 
terment, recourse has been had to a tradition of 
long standing. This certifies, that at a certain hour 
in the day the sun shines directly upon the grave of 
the wizard. Accordingly, when Walter Scott visit- 
ed the Abbey for the purpose of deciding upon a 
tomb which he might assume as Michael's, and re- 
fer to as such, in his contemplated poem, the guide, 
(and he was the same who attended me, and who 
was my informant) reminded him of the popular le- 
gend, and pointed his attention to one on which the 
sun then chanced to shine through a mouldering 



AND DRYBURGH ABBIES. 2W 

arch. The selection, it appears., was satisfactory, 
more especially as there was no inscription upon 
the stone which covered the grave; and thus the 
latter might belong to any other person as well as 
Michael Scott, and to Michael Scott as to any other 
person. 

It was not a little amusing to mark the self-com- 
placency with which this piece of information was 
given me. How far the ingenuity of the guide, in 
fact, aided the researches of the poet, I undertake 
not to judge. At any rate, it would be a pity to de- 
prive him of the satisfaction of rehearsing to a thou- 
sand visiters to come, as to the thousands who have 
been shown the Abbey heretofore, his own agency 
in determining a choice so vastly important ; and of 
winding up the account with a sly glance and signifi- 
cant shrug, which, construed into plain EngUsh, is 
as much as to say, 

'Twas /, said the fl}', 
With my little eye. 

The grave of Michael, according to the above 
tx cathedra decision is in the eastern end of the Ab- 
bey. Near it, is the space where the altar former- 
ly stood, and where the ' mitred abbott,'' stretched 
his hand when he blessed the pilgrims who went in 
procession to Melrose, to appease the troubled 
sprite of Michael Scott. I should add that at the 
time of my viewing the wizard's tomb, the sun was 
shining full upon it : in the same manner, the guide 
said, as when Walter Scott visited it, on the occa- 



298 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

sion related. Of course, this circumstance was sup- 
posed to increase marvellously my gratification ; 
notwithstanding that the aperture in the Abbey walls 
was sufficiently wide to admit of a broad glare of 
light being thrown upon a dozen other graves of 
equal size with that of Michael. 

I inquired of the conductor, if the common peo- 
ple about believe that there are ghosts which still 
tenant the Abbey ? He replied that they might as 
well believe this, as the many stories which he 
knew that they actually do credit respecting Michael 
Scott. ' What,' said I, ' do they fancy that Michael 
walks V — ' Aye, aye,' said he, ' all that, and much 
more ;' ' but,' he then added with a very knowing 
look, ' but^ we have no ghosts about here excepting 
such as we make ourselves.' By we^ 1 suppose he 
meant Himself & Co., who are in the habit of con- 
ducting strangers over the Abbey ; but the process 
employed in the manufacture of these spirits, he did 
not see fit to mention. 

But whether or not the ghost of Michael still 
walks, certain it is that no stranger presumes to visit 
Melrose without leaving an offering at his shrine ; — 
a silver offering too, — which now-a-days passes in 
the shape of a vulgar perquisite to the attending 
guide, who in this respect acts as factor to the 
weird shade, and takes, very religiously, an account 
of the avails. This oblation generally answers the 
pious purpose in view : and it is pleasing to observe 
how at such a time each cloud is chased from the 
brow of the worthy representative of Michael, and 



AND DRYBURGH ABBIES. 299 

how, too, his whole countenance brightens as with 
a sun-beam, when the glittering head of king 
George, encased in the silver rim of a half-crown, 
crosses his willing hand. 

Having taken such refreshments at the little inn 
in Melrose as befitted a pilgrim to the Scottish Lo- 
retto, I continued my walk three miles further to 
Eildon Newton, a small village near the Tweed. 
Not far from there a ferry is established, by which 
I crossed the river and found myself within the 
grounds of the Earl of Buchan. At a short distance 
from the ferry, his lordship is constructing at great 
expence a chain bridge, which, when completed, 
will prove of great utility, it being the only one, 
with a single exception, for a number of miles. 

A most charming walk of an half mile through 
grounds which were decked with the richest cultiva- 
tion, brought me to the mansion of Dryburgh. 
Both the earl and countess were at home, and gave 
me a flattering reception. At the abbey I had the 

pleasure of meeting also with the Rev. Mr. F , 

rector of Woolwich near London, and youngest bro- 
ther of the countess, who, with his lady and child, 
had come down a little before to pass a month at 
Dryburgh. — Several of the neighbouring gentry 
paid morning calls at the Abbey, among whom was 
a titled Indy. These calls I find have much less of 
formality and parade, at this distance in the country, 
than in town. In the latter, the quintessence of 
comfort in paying a morning visit, consists in driving 
furiously to the door of a house, sending a powder- 



^06 KLGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

ed footman to ring the bell violently, beat a tattoo 
on the knocker, and then throw a card into the hall ; 
after which, when breathless with haste he has re- 
mounted his stand, the carriage moves rapidly off, 
and the visiter, besides the consciousness of having 
discharged a bounden duty according to the best 
rules of good breeding, enjoys the exquisite satisfac- 
tion of having given or received great honour. 

Before the hour of dming the earl proposed a 
walk over a part of the grounds. His lordship's 
lands are not very extensive ; but they are situated 
in the finest possible manner, being on a peninsula 
formed by a reach of the Tweed, and almost com- 
pletely surrounded by it. The earl has covered 
this point with every thing adapted to the climate, 
virhich cultivation or the hand of art could annex to 
the original beauties of nature. There are several 
pretty hamlets, and a number of detached cottages 
scattered over the grounds, occupied of course by 
his lordship's tenantry. Dryburgh house is a spa- 
cious building, very respectable in appearance, but 
no ways particularly fine or showy. Its architecture 
is modern, and with the exception of turrets at the 
angles of the central and main part of the edifice, 
there is nothing antique about it, — nor any thmg 
which distinguishes it from the mansion of any inde- 
pendent country gentleman. The building is almost 
completely imbosomed with trees. It stands about 
an hundred yards distant from the noble remains of 
a once proud abbey, which at present gives name to 
the whole of lord Buchan's grounds, as well as to the 
modern mansion. 



AND DRYBURGH ABBIES. 3«1 

This abbey, or monastery, in the days of its glory 
was held by an abbot and fifty-two monks. It is of 
great antiquity. The conventual part remains still 
in tolerable preservation — such as the cloisters, the 
dormitory, and refectory. In this respect it differs 
much from other structures of a similar kind : for 
when papacy was abolished in Great Britain, and 
convents where disfranchised, the chapel, and in gene- 
ral the chapel alone, was kept in repair^ and reserv- 
ed as a place of worship for the neighbouring inhabi- 
tants, whilst the other parts of the edifice were 
suffered to go to decay. Of the chapel of Dry- 
burgh Abbey, however, only portions remain ; and 
those are in a very ruinous condition. The earl 
conducted me over each part of the pile, and pointed 
my attention to every thing of interest connected 
with it. Several traditionary legends which he re- 
lated, illustrative of the characters and lives of some 
of the former inmates of the monastery, were highly 
amusing. 

In the square of the cloisters, his lordship has 
planted and trained against the walls, peach, cherry, 
and other fruit trees, which grow very vigorously. 
They form a good substitute for the vine^ which im- 
memorially has been held in great canonical repute 
among the various monastic orders, and the fruit of 
which, doubtless, often cheered the hearts of the 
abbot and monkish fraternity of Dryburgh. — In a 
niche near the entrance into these cloisters, sur- 
mounted by a Saxon arch, is a bust of the present 

26 



302 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

earl of B. fine sculptured, and taken six years ago, 
when he was 69 years of age. 

Adjacent to the abbey ruin, is a cemetery, which 
originally belonged to the convent, and which, by 
his lordship's permission, is now used as a place of 
interment for his tenantry. It is planted with firs, 
larches, hollies and yews. Some of the latter are 
of great age and size, and they all contribute to 
throw over the spot an air of solemn gloom. — 
There are several walks in the cemetery ; and 
among these a person may stray at noon-day, when 
not a sound would occur to interrupt the profound 
stillness, nor a single sun-beam find admission through 
the deep screen, formed by the intervening branches 
of the trees. 

I was pleased with seeing in the dining room of 
Dryburgh a highly finished portrait of general Wash- 
ington, which that great man had sent to lord B. as 
a mark of courtesy and regard. His lordship's col- 
lection of paintings, both at the abbey and his town 
house, is numerous. Many of them are executed 
by the first masters, and are very fine. The earl's 
taste for the fine arts is well known in the metropo- 
lis. He is there accounted the Maecenas of the 
corps of painters ; and having a finely shaped head, 
and features very handsome and expressive, there 
is scarcely an artist of note, who has not sued for 
the honour of taking his portrait. The best which 
I have seen, are those executed by Raeburn and 
Wilson. The earl several months ago gave me a 



AND DRYBURGH ABBIES. 303 

cameo miniature of himself, very neatly finished, 
which is a striking' likeness. 

Lord B. has a great taste for letters as well as the 
fine arts. He has himself entered the lists as an au- 
thor; and his life of Napier, and a volume or two of 
Essays which he has puhlished, are very ingeni- 
ous and entertaining. — His library is extensive and 
valuable In the collection of MSS. are some pa- 
pers highly curious and interesting, which 1 had the 
privilege of inspecting. One of them was an origi- 
nal poem by Thompson, which had been given to the 
earl, together with some other writings of that sweet- 
est of bards, by lord Littleton, who, if I mistake 
not, was one of his executors. Love was the sub- 
ject of the poem ; and the author having indulged too 
far in a strain of loose and immodest thought, the 
piece had never been permitted to find a place 
among his other publications. The chirography 
was no ways elegant ; and the letters in fact were 
large and rather scrawling. The hand indeed was 
much like a school-boy's ; and it is probable that 
the whole performance was executed in very early 
life. Many lines, and more words, particularly at 
the commencement of the poem, had been erased to 
give place to others, which the cooler judgment of 
the author suggested. In the last twelve or sixteen 
lines, however, there was scarcely a single blot. 

Lord Buchan showed me also, a letter which he 
received from his brother. Lord Erskine, about the 
year 1780, (if I remember the date correctly,) in 
answer to one which hi$ lordship had written re- 



S04 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

questing an account, con amore^ of the dispositions and 
characters of Lord E.'s children. There was a vein 
©f very pleasant humour, and sportive description in 
the sketches which were returned ; but the most re- 
markable part of the letter was the apology which 
introduces it, stating the reasons for not having ac- 
knowledged and replied to the letter of Lord Bo 
sooner. Lord Erskine wrote, that for the two or 
three months previously he had been so inundated 
with business that scarcely an hour had been left to 
him for repose : ' business,' he added, — ' so great 
as had never before fallen to a barrister since 
Wilham Rufus built Westminster Hall.' — He added, 
that that very year, without office, or the receiving 
a single farthing beyond the just gains accruing from 
his professional labours, he had the prospect of clear- 
ing 10,000/. or 44,400 dollars, an immense sum in- 
deed, at that time. When he was made Lord Chan- 
cellor, he was in the regular annual receipt from the 
profits of his profession, of 14,000/. sterling. 

After tea, in the drawing room, the countess and 
Mr. F. seated themselves to a hand of piquet, in 
which they invited me to join them ; but knowing 
very little of the game, — in fact having never dipped 
into Hoyle, — 1 was unwilling to become a pupil 
on the present occasion ; and accordmgly accepted 
an invitation from the earl, as the evening was very 
beautiful, to walk with him to a part of the grounds 
to which he had not before conducted me. We ex- 
tended our walk to an emmence about a mile dis- 



AND DRYBURGH ABBlES. 30a 

tant from the Abbey, whereon his lordship has 
erected a colossal statue of the celebrated Scottish 
hero, Wallace. The hill is very commanding; and 
is clothed with hangmg woods, excepting a space 
near the summit, which was left open for the statue. 
The latter is a gigantic figure, finely proportioned, 
of the height of twenty one or two feet, and stand- 
ing on a pedestal which is ten feet, so that it may be 
seen distinctly for many miles around, and particular- 
ly well, along the road from St. Bosweli's Green to 
Melrose. The statue has been wrought out ofabiock 
of freestone, of a peculiarly excellent kind, of which 
the earl has a quarry. It is found on working, to 
admit a polish and finishing resembhng marble. 
From the eminence on which it stands, large dis- 
tricts of one or two of the border counties of Eng- 
land, are seen very clearly. 

Happening to touch upon the subject of old age, 
— his lordship having said, that, if I had arrived at 
the Abbey two days sooner, i should have visited 
him on his birth day, as he then completed his 75th 
year ; — the earl was led to enlarge upon the topic, 
and m a strain of sentiment which I could not but ad- 
mire. He observed, that beyond a certain age, and 
to that point he had now attained, a man might be 
said to endure life, but, by no propriety of language 
to enjoy it. It is most melancholy, he added, 
to see a person at the advanced age of 70 or 80, 
hoarding and fanning the last embers of life. He 
quoted some appropriate passages, expressive of this 
26 * 



306 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

sentiment, from the De Senectute of Cicero, a work 
which, next to the volume of inspiration, he thought 
ought to be the study of every one of his years, 
who is capable of understanding the original. ' I can 
conceive, however,' said his lordship ' of a person 
surrounded by a numerous progeny of children and 
grand-children, retaining unimpaired a fondness for 
life, to a very late period, — both through a desire to 
see them well established in different professions and 
holding respectable standings in society, and to con- 
tribute all in his power to promote these ends. But 
for me, who have no lineal descendants over whose 
fortunes to watch, no extraneous inducement for the 
protraction of life remains. The rank to which I 
was born brought me early upon the busy stage of 
the world, as early as fifteen ; and from the age of 
25, more properly, I began to fag; and fifty years 
are a long while to fag. Satisfied as 1 am with this 
world, my views now point to another and a bright- 
er.' 

I have given these remarks of the earl, as nearly 
as I can recall them, with literal accuracy ; and per- 
haps a passing comment may not be amiss. In early 
life, his lordship was ambitious of making a figure in 
the political world ; and he was happy in having a 
friend and patron at court in the celebrated earl of 
Chatham. From that nobleman he received several 
distinguished proofs of confidence and regard, dur- 
ing his minor age, (then Lord Cardross ;) and when 
quite a young man, he had a diplomatic appointment, 
being nominated to the second station in an important 
embassy to some foreign court. His father dying 



AND DRYBURGII ABfelES. 5«7 

about that time, and the earldom descending to him, 
he dechned going abroad, and taking leave of public 
life, retired to his estates in Scotland. The pa- 
trimonial revenues accompanying the title which he 
inherited, were comparatively small ; and they were 
found to be greatly reduced either through the pro- 
digality or the negligence of his father. The earl, 
however, nothing daunted, set to work to clear his 
estates from their incumbrances and embarrass- 
ments^ and what with care, and thrift, and faithful 
nursing, he has not only effected this, but rendered 
them very productive, and now enjoys an ample in- 
come. It is true that a life spent under these cir- 
cumstances might seemingly pass for something else 
than a toilsome and fagging existence ; but indepen- 
dently of the earFs rural employments and literary 
pursuits, his station in society has necessarily called 
him into many of the stirring scenes of active life ; 
and he has carried his habits of persevering industry 
into all his avocations, and made them regulate his 
entire deportment. 

The poet who drew his pictures of men and man- 
ners fresh from life, and all whose reflections are 
marked with peculiar point and signiticancy, has ob- 
served, ' how various his employments whom the 
world calls idle :' His meaning obviously is that 
what may appear to a casual eye, a life of ease, may 
in fact be one of laborious exertion ; and the pur- 
suits of a person even in the sequestered and noise- 
less walks of society, are often found on a nearer in- 
spection, to be something more than mere diffl- 
ciles nugce. As respects the earl of B. he retains the 



368 PILGRIiMAGE TO MELROSE 

habits of systematic industry, which he formed in his 
early years ; and to these, together with the regular 
course of Hvmg which he has uniformly adhered to, 
may be ascribed, under favour of Providence, the hale 
and vigorous health which he is now enjoying, and 
the almost youthful glow which his countenance 
still wears. In town, during the winter months, his 
lordship rises at peep of dawn, and is in the habit of 
closing as well as beginning the day, betimes. In 
this respect he differs widely from the countess, who 
loves to figure in the brilliant evening circles of the 
metropolis ; a contrast of tastes which I have sever- 
al times heard his lordship speak of with much plea- 
santry, comparing himself and ladyB, (making some 
allowance indeed on the score of gender,j to Castor 
and Pollux, the one existing solely in the day — the 
other in the night. 

The earl of B. is distinguished for some eccentri- 
cities ; but where is the nobleman who is free from 
them ? He is charged also with having not a little of 
the leaven of vanity. That he has a dash of this, and 
a pretty strong dash too, there is no denying. But 
whatever an American with his republican notions 
may think of it,. it would seem that a Scot ought to 
regard the foible with indulgence, when he remem* 
hers that the earl represents one of the most ancient 
and noble houses in North Britain, and that the 
blood of the illustrious race of Stuarts, and conse- 
quently, (although partially,) of the royal line of 
Brunswick, flows in his veins. — It is remarkable that 
the present generation of the family have added 
distm^uished lustre to the name. The second brc- 



AND DRYBURGII ABBIES. 309 

therof the earl of B., the Hon. Henry Erskine, after 
establishing his reputation at the bar as a profound 
jurist, and eloquent advocate, was advanced to the 
dignity of lord advocate of Scotland : — and the other 
brother, the Hon. Thomas (now lord) Erskine, rais- 
ed himself by the force of his transcendent taients 
to the lord high chancellorship of the realm. The 
earl has but one sister. She was married to the 
earl of Glencairn; and that nobleman having died 
without issue, and being the last of the name, 
the title will become extinct on the death ot the 
countess. The health of the Hon. H. Erskine 
is declining very fast. The earl mentioned that he 
had made him a recent visit ; and it was one of the 
last, he feared, which he should ever make this side 
of the grave. The eldest son of Mr. E. is pre- 
sumptive heir to the estates and coronet of Bu- 
chan.* 

In returning with the earl from our walk to the 
statue of Wallace, his lordship conducted me to the 
abbey by a path which lay through the finest of his 
grounds. There was a peculiar softness and beau- 
ty in the evening. The western sky was hung 
with clouds of golden splendour; and the declin- 
ing sun burnished their borders with colours of richest 
hue. The children of his lordship's tenants were 

* The Hon. Henry Erskine died a short time after the date of 
the above ; — the Right Hon. the Countess of Bachan about a 
year subsequently. Her ladyship was a number of ytais youn- 
ger than the earl. In early life she had been celebrated for her 
lieauty. 



310 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE 

sporting their gambols upon the little lawns around 
their several hamlets ; and every thing wore the 
aspect of content and peace and cheerfulness. 

A prominent topic of conversation in the even- 
ing was America, its civil polity and resources. 
The earl has turned his attention very much to 
these subjects, and has watched with interest the 
progress of affairs in the United States, ever since 
the revolution. One of the earl's ancestors, lord 
Fairfax, was a proprietor in the South Carolina 
grant or patent ; and independently of this family 
connection, if i may so speak, with the United 
States, his lordship has ever been a firm and tem- 
perate advocate of civil freedom, and has accord- 
ingly viewed with admiration the simple but effi- 
cient operations of the federal republican consti- 
tution of the States. The earl opened a corres- 
pondence With Washington, Franklin, and Jeffer- 
son, — names venerated by every American citizen, 
and of which imperial Rome might have been proud. 
I have seen the originals of many, if not all, the 
letters in reply. Those of Washington are highly 
interesting. Thej'^ are all deposited with Dr. Ro- 
bert Anderson of Edinburgh, another ardent friend 
of the United States, and a gentleman well known 
to the public for his various literary productions, 
especially his elegant biography of the British 
poets. 

Something was said respecting the reported ces- 
sion of the island of Lampedoza by the Neapoli- 
tans to the Americans — a rumour which has of 



AND DRYBURGH ABBIES. 311 

late excited considerable comment and speculation 
in Edinburgh, and which has been appealed to by 
some, in proof of an ambitious pohcy on the part 
of the United States, and a spirit of aggrandize- 
ment, ill becoming a repubUc of such modest pre- 
tensions. Admitting the report to be true, the 
earl of B. strongly reprobated the measure. I 
suggested the obvious advantage that would ac- 
crue to the States from the possession of an island 
or some small territory in the Mediterranean, 
which might serve lor a permanent naval station, 
and a place of refitment and supplies to our squad- 
ron appointed to cruise in that sea, for the pur- 
pose of overawing the Barbary Regencies. The 
earl, however, was unwiUing to acknowledge that 
there could be much utility, whatever of seeming 
convenience there might be, in having such a de- 
pot ; at least, he thought that the probable evils 
more than counterbalanced the expected benefits. — 
♦ No, no ;' said he, pursuing the subject with much 
earnestness of manner, ' your nation must think of 
no Lampedozas — must indulge no wish of attain- 
ing a single rood of European soil. You have ter- 
ritory enough now, and should live independently 
of the rest of the world. You have only to mul- 
tiply facilities of intercourse between one portion 
and another of your common country, by opening 
canals, extending your highw.ays, and rendermgyour 
rivers more navigable ; and then may the western 
states furnish ready supplies for those of the At- 
lantic, the north may continue to trade with the 
south; and drawing your subsistence from your- 



312 PILGRIMAGE TO MELROSE, &c. 

selves, you will fast rise to opulence and power, 
and become a second China.' 

It was late before we separated for the night. — 
From the windows of my chamber I caught a par- 
tial but strikmg view, through the moonlight, of 
the mouldering walls and dismantled towers of the 
abbey ruin. Its appearance on the following 
morning, in connection with numerous other ob- 
jects of beauty and interest around, was very grand. 

On the succeeding day, after breakfast, I left 
Dryburgh with regret that my engagements pre- 
cluded my protracting my stay at it longer, and 
sensibly touched by the many courtesies of the 
earl and countess of Buchan. The former, from 
the time of my introduction to him, has honoured 
me with distinguished attentions, nor is it among 
the least of my regrets on leaving Scotland, that I 
shall never agam have an opportunity of enjoying 
a personal intercourse wuth this nobleman. 

1 was ferried across the river in a boat belong- 
ing to the abbey ; and then proceeded on foot to 
St. Boswell's green, a village a mile or two dis- 
tant, through which the coach for Edinburgh was 
to pass. Arriving there some time before it was 
expected, I pursued my walk to Melrose, which I 
reached a few minutes only in advance of the ve- 
hicle. Nothing material occurred during the re- 
mainder of my route to Edinburgh. The day was 
jBae, and the ride was pleasant. 



END. 



Aiin 



^'L? .<^ 



